The major UK supermarkets have fundamentally changed the retail landscape over the last 30 years.
While we might not like the impact on our small towns or the continual focus on price, we cannot deny these businesses are vital customers for NI produce, especially beef. Most retailers remain fiercely loyal to local product, despite the obvious temptation to bring in much cheaper beef from New Zealand, Australia and Brazil.
Imports from those counties have surged in a post-Brexit environment, however, that beef is mainly ending up in restaurants and other catering establishments.
The latest figures to the end of April show New Zealand imports are up over 400%, Australia is up over 150% and Brazilian tonnages have increased 120% when compared to the same period in 2025.
The loser has been the Republic of Ireland and while it still accounts for nearly two-thirds of all imports to the UK, its tonnages are down 14% in 2026.
That increased competition in its main UK outlet has negatively impacted prices paid to Irish farmers this year and there are reports that a lot of beef has been put into cold stores in the hope that the market will improve later this year.
One of the fundamental issues goes back to rules around beef labelling, with factories and retailers required to include the country of origin on packs of fresh and frozen beef.
However, those rules don’t apply to cooked or seasoned beef, nor to processed products, so there is no requirement for a restaurant owner to state where their sirloin steak comes from.
The UFU has called for greater transparency across hospitality, catering and food service sectors, pointing out that consumers deserve to know the country of origin of food, and how unfair it is when local suppliers are undercut by cheap imports produced to lower standards.
In reality, a lot of consumers would probably be surprised if that information was made available.
However, there are a lot of vested interests within the wider food industry who prefer to maintain the status quo.
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