Updated analysis shines spotlight on long-term opportunities for red meat and dairy exports to Europe

Strengthening trade links, maintaining and building long-term relationships are key to helping drive exports of red meat and dairy produce in European markets.

Updated analysis in our Prospects for UK Agri Food Exports in Europe has reiterated the EU’s importance as a trading partner and how the UK can optimise the effective promotion of red meat and dairy.

It covers economic outlook, consumption patterns, market access requirements and barriers to trade, as well as consumer perceptions of British red meat and dairy.

It also includes a new 'Routes to market' section for exporters, outlining challenges and growing opportunities across multiple routes to the EU market and for buyers in the supply chain in informing exporters about the importance of making products stand out.

In value terms, 83% of the UK’s red meat (fresh, frozen and offal) and dairy products were exported to the EU annually (2022–24 average).

In 2024 total red meat exports, including offal, were worth £1.77 billion, with shipments worth £1.4 billion heading to the EU. The EU is of paramount importance for UK sheep meat exports in particular. France remains the UK’s largest market for UK sheep meat exports with the value in 2024 increasing by 12.8% on the year to £330 million.

Total UK dairy exports in 2024 were worth £1.8 billion. More than 76% of the UK’s total dairy exports were shipped to the EU – our closest and largest market – and were worth £1.4 billion.

The EU, and Europe as a whole, is a developed and mature market and little growth is forecast in consumption of red meat over the next decade.

However, there are areas where the UK is well placed to take advantage such as high-value, premium beef in markets such as France and Italy, lamb for growing halal markets in France, Germany and the Netherlands and niche markets in Northern Europe for premium lamb.

Cheese consumption per capita in Europe is forecast to grow by 5.5% by 2033. UK cheese is well-positioned to benefit from strong demand for Cheddar and regionally protected products such as Stilton, as well as in the speciality and added-value markets.

Dr Amandeep Kaur Purewal, AHDB Senior Economist, said:

"The UK can now negotiate trade deals with countries around the world that present some opportunities. However, we must not forget the relationship we have with our number one trading partner, the EU.

"Long-term relationships and high-quality/premium products are key to future export growth in Europe. Our updated analysis has highlighted areas for our red meat and dairy exporters to potentially capitalise on this and our tools and resources can play a pivotal role in helping maximise opportunities for our world class produce in the EU and wider European region."

The latest updated research follows the launch earlier this year of our Quality Meat from Britain multilingual website, aimed at providing consistency of messaging around provenance and high production standards for British red meat in the European market.

Providing key information on British red meat in English, French, Dutch, German and Portuguese, the website supports the roll out of the Quality Meat from Britain brand.

Gareth Renowden, AHDB Head of International Marketing, said:

"Although Europe is already the UK’s largest market, we’ve identified further opportunities for our levy payers which has been underlined by the latest updated research.

"The Quality Meat from Britain website, combined with the updated insight in our Prospects for UK Agri Food Exports work, are very much aimed at supporting the ongoing export ambitions of our levy payers."