Welsh lamb is big in Japan
Exports of Welsh lamb to Japan are picking up again after the Covid-19 pandemic stalled sales.
Trade secured in Japan by Welsh red meat levy body Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) was strengthening in 2019, before it was interrupted by restrictions linked to the pandemic.
But that market is improving again, with Welsh lamb on sale at the Hitsuji Festival in Tokyo, an annual food fair that shines the spotlight on lamb.
Suppliers and chefs from America, Australia, Iceland, New Zealand and Japan sampled several dishes made with lamb.
Welsh lamb producers have been capitalising on a growing marketplace after Japan lifted its 23-year ban on British beef and lamb imports in 2019, which had been in place since the bovine spongiform encephalopathy epidemic in 1996.
For the UK as a whole, lamb and sheepmeat exports to Japan for the first three quarters of 2022 were worth £0.48m – up 368% compared with the same period in 2021.
“In 2021, exports were very low, but we’ve seen a pick-up in the latter half of 2022, though it is obviously still a very small market compared with Europe,” said a HCC spokesperson.
Debbie James / Farmers Weekly
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