Pigmeat exports from the Republic of Ireland (ROI) grew by 20%, year-on-year, in the first half of 2016, with the UK continuing to be a major destination for Irish products, according to AHDB Pork.
Total first half exports reached 96,100 tonnes, just under 30% of which was sent into the UK market.
“Pork shipments to the UK grew by 6% on the year earlier, while exports to China more than doubled, echoing the macro-economic trend that is being observed by the majority of major pork producers around the globe,” said AHDB Pork. “Trade with Germany, largely made up of sow carcases, as in the UK, was back by 18%.”
How much longer the flow of product into the UK will remain this strong, however, is open to debate, given the result of Britain’s EU referendum.
“The exchange rate becoming less favourable since the Brexit vote, and the gap narrowing between the Irish and the UK pig price, may reduce the volume of Irish pigmeat on the UK market,” said AHDB Pork.
ROI also exports significant amounts of processed products to the UK, with 8,600 tonnes of bacon and 4,900 tonnes of sausages being shipped to the UK during the first six months of 2016.