The UK imported 12,610 tonnes (t) of fresh and frozen (F&F) beef from Ireland in May this year, down from 14,532t in May 2025.
This represents just over 64% of all UK F&F beef imports in May, which is down on the 68% share of the market Ireland had in May last year.
For the year to date, the UK has imported 100,746t of F&F beef from Ireland, which represents 64% of its total imports.
Overall, UK beef imports in May were 19,878t, which is down on the 21,343t the previous year (source: UK HMRC compiled by Trade Data Monitor LLC, published by AHDB).
Less Irish exports, more UK options
The loss of market share for Irish beef in the UK is explained by a combination of Ireland exporting less beef overall and the UK having more supply options for importing beef.
Bord Bia export data for the first five months of 2026 shows that 184,329t of beef was exported from Ireland to all markets, which is down 10.5% on the 205,984t exported in the same period last year.
As well as Ireland having less beef to export, the UK has now well-established beef supply lines from Australia and New Zealand since the zero-tariff quotas came into effect in the middle of 2023.
In May, New Zealand supplied 2,382t of UK F&F beef imports, up from 831t in May 2025, an almost threefold increase. For the year to date, the UK has imported 12,174t compared with just 2,772t in the same period last year.
Australia has also grown its share of the UK imported beef market. In May this year, it supplied 2,133t of F&F beef, double what it supplied in May last year. For the year to date, it has supplied 7,852t, up from 3,289t in the same period in 2025.
Volumes from South America drop in May
The main South American beef exporting countries have also been increasing their market share in the UK, but May showed a decline for them.
Brazil supplied 829t in May, which was down on the 1,398t supplied in the same month last year. Despite the dip in May, UK imports from Brazil for the first five months of the year were at 5,350t, which is considerably higher than the 3,455t supplied in the same period in 2025.
EU countries lose out
While UK F&F beef imports from Ireland have dipped over the past year, they have collapsed from other EU countries.
Poland has grown its share of the UK imported beef market over the past decade, becoming the second-largest supplier after Ireland.
However, in May this year, it supplied just 952t of UK F&F beef imports, down from 1,662t in May last year.
The Netherlands has also been a supplier and its volume in May 2026 was just 220t compared with 465t in May 2025.
There is a twofold explanation for the changing pattern of UK beef imports in 2026.
Overall supplies in Ireland and other EU countries is lower. Alongside this, the UK now has favourable trade deals in place with Australia and New Zealand – both of whom are major beef exporters, with long established links with the UK.
This means that additional competition for Irish beef in the UK imported beef market is here to stay.
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