UK imports grew in Q3 as global prices remain high: Beef Q3 2025 trade update

Key points:

• January to September UK beef imports decreased 1% year-on-year (YoY) to 223,000 tonnes, with lower shipments from Ireland partially offset by strong growth from Australia and New Zealand
• Beef exports fell by 5% year-on-year to 103,000 tonnes, as reduced fresh beef and offal shipments outweighed growth in frozen and processed exports; volumes to France increased while exports to Ireland and the Netherlands declined

Imports

UK beef imports (fresh, frozen, offal and processed) for the first nine months of 2025 totalled 223,000 tonnes, a 1% decline on the same period in 2024. However, if we look at Q3 (Jul–Sep) of 2025 we see import volumes nearly 2% higher versus the same period last year.

As domestic and global beef prices have increased, this has led to a significant increase in the total value of beef imports. Total value has risen 24% in 2025, compared to the January to September of 2024, to reach £1.51 billion.

Ireland remained the dominant supplier, providing 141,500 tonnes, though this was 8% lower YoY (from 154,000 t). The fall aligns with tightening Irish cattle kill and the closing price differential between UK and Irish beef.

Among EU member states, imports from Poland increased to 18,200 tonnes (+11% YoY), reflecting its competitive price point in the EU market.

Non-EU origins showed the most pronounced growth.

Volumes from Brazil rose to 18,500 tonnes, an increase of 16% on the year. Imports from Australia expanded sharply from 3,800 tonnes to 9,700 tonnes, a rise of over 150%, while New Zealand increased from 2,900 tonnes in the same period of 2024 to just over 9,000 tonnes in 2025, up by more than 200% year-on-year.

Although these remain much smaller quantities than Irish volumes, the pace of growth from non-EU suppliers highlights the increasing utilisation of tariff-free access under recent trade agreements and growing interest in the UK market.

As of 10 November, the Australian government reported that 30% of the total 2025 beef quota in the Australian-UK Free Trade Agreement (A-UK FTA) has been used.

UK beef import volumes by country (Jan-Sep)

Source: HMRC compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC

Looking at imports by product type, fresh beef continues to account for the bulk of volumes.

Fresh beef imports for the year to date (Jan–Sep) were 115,000 tonnes, down 2% YoY. Meanwhile frozen beef imports grew to 64,700 tonnes, an increase of nearly 9%, led by increased imports from Brazil and New Zealand.

Processed beef (including corned beef) declined to 31,200 tonnes (-9% YoY), and beef offal imports fell by 15% to approximately 12,400 tonnes.

UK beef import volumes by cut (Jan-Sep)

Source: HMRC, compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC

Exports

UK beef exports for Jan–Sep 2025 totalled 102,800 tonnes, down 4.6% from a year earlier. We have seen the effect of sustained high GB cattle prices supporting export values, which have lifted in the year to date (Jan–Sep) 2025 by 22% compared to 2024 and the total now sits at £592m.

Within Europe, performance was mixed. Exports to France increased to 25,700 tonnes, a rise of just over 10%, indicating continued robust demand for UK beef in this market.

We saw offal and frozen beef cuts most notably increasing, 25% and 61% respectively, albeit from a lower base than exports of fresh beef to France. In contrast, shipments to Ireland fell by 7% to 27,400 tonnes, as the UK’s relatively high prices limited exports and product to the Netherlands also decreased by nearly 7%.

Beyond Europe, trade flows were also mixed. Exports to Ghana rose by 12%, underlining the continued importance of West African markets for UK offal and lower-value cuts. However, shipments to Hong Kong fell by almost 19%, and exports to Canada dropped by close to 38%,

UK beef export volumes by destination (Jan-Sep)

Source: HMRC, compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC

From a product perspective, fresh beef exports fell to 52,600 tonnes, a decline of almost 9%. By contrast, frozen beef exports grew to 27,800 tonnes, up more than 13% YoY.

Processed beef exports also added modest growth, rising to just over 4,000 tonnes (+10% YoY). Offal exports, however, declined from 21,800 tonnes to 18,300 tonnes, a fall of 16%, suggesting that some lower-value markets have become more price-sensitive and are drawing product from alternative suppliers.

UK beef export volumes by cut (Jan-Sep)

Source: HMRC, compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC

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