New Zealand sent 141,587t of lamb to the EU, representing only 68% of its tariff-free quota. Meanwhile, Australia stayed under its much-smaller limit of 19,186t, with 96% utilised.

The AHDB figures show a trend of recent years – New Zealand under-used its quota viewing the EU as a mature market, with greater growth seen in China.

Meanwhile, Australia has been maximising its smaller limit with a desire to gain greater access to the UK post-Brexit.

The first 10 months of 2018 saw a rise of 2% for sheep meat imports into the EU, with Chile being the third largest exporter – sending just over 2,000t.

The next biggest supplier, Argentina, has a tariff-free limit similar to Australia and only utilised around 7%.

The current Brexit negotiation agreement will see the UK end up with half of New Zealand’s quota – based on the average distribution of lamb over the last three years.