While there are many problems facing Irish beef producers, the greatest of which are consistently low incomes, beef imports are the least of these problems.

This is because while Central Statistics Office (CSO) data shows that Ireland did import 53,970t of beef in 2022, it also shows that we exported 479,614t of beef in total.

These are the combined totals for the different types of beef that were imported and exported in 2022, and therefore they include a mix of carcases, bone-in cuts, and fresh and frozen boneless cuts.

The CSO data provides analysis of the product mix, but the overall number is sufficient to highlight that an export trade is essential for Irish beef production, and that we are in a weak position if we suggest we expect to be able to export 90% of our production – the highest of any major exporting country in the world – but at the same time suggest we close the door to imports.

What is imported and from where

Table 1 shows a breakdown of the 53,970t worth of beef and the main types that were imported in 2022.

By far, the largest volume (33,430t) was fresh, chilled boneless beef, accounting for 62% of all beef imported. Frozen boneless beef was the next largest category at 7,779t or just over 14% of total imports.

Bone-in beef quarters accounted for 3,802t, bone-in carcases for 2,769t and bone-in cuts of beef were at 1,097t.

Figure 1 shows that 85% of the beef imported by Ireland in 2022 came from Britain and Northern Ireland, with just 15% spread across other countries.

The remainder is made up of small amounts from individual countries, for example 719t came from Netherlands and just 73t came from Brazil, which was made up of offal.

While there is no individual breakdown of where the import product went, it is reasonable to assume that a huge proportion was intercompany trading, given that the meat processing industry is completely integrated between Britain and the island of Ireland.

For example, it is regular practice for factories in Northern Ireland to bring carcases across from sister factories in Britain to utilise their boning capacity.

Factories in the north supplying Tesco with Northern Irish beef send boneless chilled beef south, for retail packing – this means that boneless chilled beef imported from the north is re-exported for supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland.

Figure 2 illustrates how the volume imported is miniscule relative to the volumes Ireland exports the other way.

It is critical for Irish beef producers and processors to trade with our closest neighbours and that if we want to send our exports to them, we have to be open to receiving imports as well.

Given that Ireland exported 479,614t of beef in 2022 – approximately 90% of our production, with just under half of this to Britain and Northern Ireland – we need to be open-minded about product coming the other way, especially as much of this is intercompany trading.

Standards there are broadly similar and the fact that they have higher farm gate prices also acts as a barrier to increasing import volumes.

We do, of course, need to be mindful of standards with imports from outside of the EU, which are not captured in CSO data – if they land in a port anywhere in the EU, they are free to circulate throughout EU member states.

In the week that saw cattle rearing and sheep farming incomes fall in what was supposed to be a good year in 2022, this isn’t the hill for the farming lobby to die on.