The topic of sheep imports from Northern Ireland is often a contentious subject. They have become an important supply for southern plants in recent years, used to bolster numbers and help to dilute processing costs.

The supply source regularly comes under the spotlight when markets are struggling or domestic supplies are strong. It is therefore not surprising that there have been more discussions surrounding imports from Northern Ireland since the supply backlog caused by beef factory gate protests.

There has also been a significant increase in reports of greater volumes of sheep being imported via Northern Ireland from Scotland or direct from Britain in 2019. These reports often gain traction when market tensions are high and there is an absence of facts and figures.

To inform the debate, this article will analyse figures from recent years and looks at supply trends in Northern Ireland’s sheep sector.

Imports from NI

Figure 1 details sheep imports from Northern Ireland for the year-to-date and compares this to 2018 and 2017. At 318,577 head, imports for the year-to-date in 2019 are running 38,195 head behind the corresponding period in 2018. They are running marginally ahead (+1,979) of the five-year average.

It is also important to note there has been a sharp increase in the number of sheep (classified as store / breeding sheep) imported from Northern Ireland to farms in the south in recent years.

As reflected in Figure 2, this peaked at 77,928 head in 2017. The number of sheep imported through this avenue to-date in 2019 stands at 45,816 head, a reduction of 7,506 head on recent years.

Imports from Britain

The other supply avenue generating a greater focus in 2019 is numbers of sheep reportadly being imported from Scotland, Wales or England. There have been recurring reports in recent weeks of much higher import figures in spring 2019.

The latest Department of Agriculture records are detailed in Table 1. It shows imports for the first four months of the year came to 7,254 head, which is an increase of 3,147 head on 2018 volumes.

Imports since then total 3,639, which is a reduction of 1,941 head on the corresponding period in 2018.

Year total figures therefore are just 1,206 head above 2018 levels. It should be noted that figures for the last three months may be subject to revision for the purposes of completeness.

Total output

Figure 2 also details a breakdown of sheep slaughtering in Northern Ireland processing plants and exports to the south (for direct slaughter and to farms) for the last 10 years.

This is totalled to give an overall output figure excluding a small number of irregular sheep exports to Britain. The overall volume of sheep produced in Northern Ireland has varied slightly in recent years. This can be directly linked to fluctuation in the Northern ewe flock, as reflected in Figure 3.

There are also reports of more sheep being imported into Northern Ireland both for direct slaughter and further feeding or breeding.

The latest Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) figures show 3,466 sheep imported to-date in 2019 for direct slaughter, a reduction of 1,260 head on the corresponding period in 2018. While at 7,263 head there were 2,270 head fewer sheep imported onto Northern farms.