Beef and veal imports




Beef and veal imports

The UK is a net importer of beef and veal. Lower production levels combined with a significant recovery in consumption levels in recent years have meant that imports have grown.



Imports of live cattle peaked at around 187,000 head in 1996 but more stringent animal welfare requirements have resulted in trade dropping off since then, falling to just 5,000 head in 2005, many of which were breeding animals from the Irish Republic. Since 1998 imports of beef and veal have shown year on year growth, reaching almost 350 tonnes in 2004, but over the past two years there has been a slight downturn to 299,000 and 268,000 tonnes respecitvely.

Main suppliers of beef and veal

The Irish Republic is by far the largest supplier of beef and veal to the UK and provided 57 per cent of the total in 2005. However, imports from South America have grown in recent years, particularly from Brazil with imports from this destination almost doubling in the past two years. This trend is likely to continue as Brazil has the potential to increase production dramatically and is able to compete effectively on price and quality.



Main cuts supplied


In 2004, 70% of imports were supplied in fresh/chilled form and 30% in frozen form. The majority of this was supplied boneless from the Irish Republic. Much of the Brazilian product was also supplied, boneless in a frozen form.

Import regulations

With the exception of pure-bred cattle for breeding, all cattle and beef imported from outside the EU is subject to import tariffs set under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement in 1995. Import tariff rates have been reduced annually in line with this agreement. Customs duty, payable as a percentage of the value of the imports, must also be paid. There are a number of schemes that allow a specific quantity of beef from certain countries to be imported into the EU at a reduced or zero rate of import tariff. As an example of one of these schemes, the ‘High Quality’ or ‘Hilton’ beef quota allows 59,100 tonnes of beef of a particular specification to be imported into the EU each year from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, North America and New Zealand without payment of import tariffs.

For more information: Services, publications and websites Defra information on International trade: Imports Defra International Trade information on Imports - General Licences Business Link - Practical Advice on whether an import or export licence is required