End of year figures detailing EU sheepmeat imports show the volume of sheepmeat imported in 2022 increased by 15% to reach 156,045t.

The UK remains the main supplier of sheepmeat since Brexit, with volumes imported rising by 4% to 76,358t. This was closely followed by New Zealand with volumes imported increasing significantly by 25%, or over 13,000t, to reach 65,385t.

These two countries are the main suppliers, with volumes imported from Australia limited by import tariffs.

Volumes imported still increased, with total volumes entering EU markets rising from 3,855t in 2021 to 5,944t in 2022.

Imports from Macedonia were static at 2,214 while volumes from Chile were recorded at 1,528t, up from 1,014 in 2021.

A similar volume of 1,373t was imported from Argentina, representing a year-on-year increase of 12%, while small import volumes from other countries combined reached 3,245, up 36% on 2021 levels.