EU beef import figures published by the European Commission for the period January to May 2018 show an increase of 20,084t of beef imported to reach 142,150t.

The increase in imports is driven primarily by higher volumes of Brazilian beef, with import volumes increasing 16,020t to reach 58,928t.

Reports suggest the volume of beef traded was limited by Operation Weak Flesh which detected flaws in the Brazilian official control system resulting in the delisting of 20 Brazilian plants from exporting meat and meat products (mainly poultry) to the EU.

The latest export figures also shows Argentina continuing to grow its export volumes with an increase of 6,213t to reach 25,491t.

Once a major exporter of beef to the EU, volumes declined on the back of export tariffs introduced in Argentina and a switch to soya bean production but in recent years there has been support internally in the country to grow export volumes. There was also an increase in volumes imported from other destinations with imports rising 2,404t to 15,393t.

Reduced imports

A percentage of the higher import volumes was cancelled out by reduced volumes from Uruguay and the USA. These countries recorded reductions of 2,152t and 2,509t respectively with Uruguay a significant supplier with 24,059t imported from the country in the first five months of 2018. Australian beef exports to the EU were recorded as steady at 9,478t.

Reduced EU exports

Meanwhile, exports of beef outside of the EU also reduced marginally in the same period, falling from 313,427t in 2017 to 299,477t in 2018. This followed on from significant growth of close to 50,000t in 2017. The overall figures hide significant changes, however. The volume of beef exported to what is classified as other destinations reduced by close to 40,000t with, accounting for some 166,991t.

Tight supplies of beef in Turkey continue to play a major factor in overall export figures, with exports more than doubling and increasing from 20,841t to 46,315t. Exports to the next-largest market, Hong Kong, reduced marginally from 34,307t to 32,951t, while exports to Israel reduced by a similar volume from 20,521t to 18,417t.

The other main market outlet was the Lebanon, with 16,799t of EU beef exported there.

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