British farmers are voicing rising anger after a pointy rise in Australian beef and lamb imports, which they are saying is undercutting home producers and placing additional stress on an already strained livestock sector.
New figures present that beef imports from Australia have surged because the UK-Australia free-trade deal got here into drive in Could 2023. Volumes jumped by virtually 200 per cent within the first 12 months of the settlement, rose an extra 170 per cent final 12 months, and elevated by greater than 80 per cent within the first 9 months of 2025 alone, in keeping with Australian knowledge.
Sheep meat imports, primarily lamb, have additionally risen sharply, climbing 39 per cent in 2023 and 42 per cent in 2024, earlier than easing to single-digit development to this point this 12 months.
The figures seem to validate warnings made by British farmers forward of the deal’s signing, once they cautioned that the settlement may open the door to a wave of low-cost meat imports.
David Barton, a cattle farmer and chair of the Nationwide Farmers’ Union livestock board, stated the impression of the deal was now being felt throughout the sector. “We’ve lengthy warned that the UK-Australia deal would have actual penalties for British livestock producers,” he stated. “Now we’re seeing these impacts play out.”
Barton added that the surge in imports is arriving at a troublesome second for UK farmers, lots of whom are grappling with a difficult dry season and rising prices. “They want confidence to supply British beef, and this undermines that confidence,” he stated.
He additionally argued that British farmers had been being penalised for working to larger animal welfare and sustainability requirements, which may make UK meat much less price-competitive. “The issue is that the Authorities appears to be fairly proud of low-cost imports that aren’t, maybe, produced to the identical requirements or manufacturing strategies that will be authorized within the UK,” Barton stated.
Australia’s Meat and Livestock Affiliation (MLA) has rejected claims that Australian meat is flooding the UK market or being produced to decrease requirements. Richard Saunders, the MLA’s UK nation supervisor, stated Australian beef nonetheless accounts for under about 4 per cent of British beef imports.
“There is no such thing as a method any flooding of the market is occurring,” Saunders stated, including that Australia is presently filling solely round one-third of its 50,000-tonne tariff-free beef quota beneath the commerce deal. He acknowledged, nevertheless, that Australian producers are eager to determine and develop manufacturers within the UK, notably premium choices resembling Wagyu beef.
On lamb, Saunders stated Australia is utilizing roughly half of its 36,000-tonne tariff-free quota. Britain imports between 1 / 4 and a 3rd of the lamb it consumes, with Australia and New Zealand accounting for about 80 per cent of these imports.
Saunders argued that structural variations in manufacturing prices clarify the value hole. “It’s not very economical to develop lambs within the UK any extra,” he stated, pointing to larger overheads related to housing and lambing situations in contrast with Australia’s out of doors techniques.
He instructed that the majority imported lamb is offered in London, whereas customers elsewhere within the nation usually want British meat regardless of the upper value. “Outdoors of London, should you don’t have British lamb on the menu, you’ll be kicked out of city,” he stated. “They need to undoubtedly be taking care of native producers.”
Nevertheless, Barton warned that the impression of the commerce deal would construct over time. “This settlement is a transparent instance of how commerce offers can have lasting results,” he stated. “The cumulative impression of this deal, people who adopted and future agreements should not be understated.”
He added that Britain’s local weather and grassland made it among the finest locations on the planet to supply beef sustainably, arguing that home producers needs to be supported relatively than squeezed out by rising imports.
