UK Secures Landmark Trade Deal with India, Opening Doors for British Lamb Exports

UNITED KINGDOM – June 7, 2025 – The United Kingdom has officially signed a significant trade agreement with India, a move expected to provide a substantial boost to various sectors, particularly British lamb exports. The deal, announced by the Department for Business and Trade, will see India dramatically reduce its tariffs on a wide range of goods.

The agreement covers 90% of all tariff lines, with an impressive 85% set to become entirely tariff-free within the next decade. This reduction in trade barriers is poised to unlock considerable opportunities for UK producers.

British lamb has been identified as a key agricultural product set to benefit significantly from this new accord. Tony Goodger, Head of Communications for the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS), hailed the tariff reductions on lamb exports to India as a “major win.” He anticipates robust demand for premium British lamb products, specifically mentioning celebrated geographical indications like Welsh PGI Lamb and Scotch PGI Lamb. The agreement also creates avenues for high-quality assured Halal lamb to serve India’s substantial Muslim population.

AIMS is actively seeking further clarification from the Department for Business and Trade regarding the future tariff status of UK pork and pet food exports to India, as these categories were not explicitly detailed in the initial announcements. The trade deal marks a pivotal moment for UK-India economic relations, aiming to foster greater trade and investment between the two nations.

Source: Gov.uk

Consumers are continuing to feel the pinch as meat price inflation remains stubbornly high, according to the latest AIMS Meat Inflation Tracker Report for April 2025.

The report reveals that fresh meat prices have increased by a significant 11.53% compared to April 2024, with a further rise of 3.48% recorded in the last month alone.

Tony Goodger, Head of Communications at AIMS, commenting on the concerning figures, stated, “Our report, which is based AHDB’s supermarket price tracker, and our own monitoring of the chicken market shows that meat price inflation is being driven by 12 months of steep rises across beef (+20.96%) and lamb (+19.92%) cuts.”

For consumers seeking more budget-friendly options, Mr. Goodger pointed to a notable exception in the market. “Consumers looking for the very best value should go for British farm assured chicken legs as they haven’t moved at all during the last month and are 5p/kg down (2.03%) year on year.”

He also highlighted some slight relief in the pork sector. “That said,” Mr. Goodger added, “British Pork cuts such as belly slices, tenderloin and mince have also dropped back slightly year on year. However, with the current hot weather and two bank holidays in quick succession I do expect demand for these lines to increase as households look to the barbecue for meal occasions.”

The AIMS report underscores the sustained pressure on household budgets due to escalating meat prices, particularly for beef and lamb. While chicken legs and certain pork cuts offer some respite, the overall trend indicates that meat price inflation remains a significant concern for consumers. The anticipated increase in demand for barbecue staples due to the upcoming warm weather and bank holidays could further influence prices in the short term.

Deadweight pig prices in Ireland are currently experiencing an upward trend, driven by relatively tight supplies available for slaughter.

The past week saw an increase of 2 cents per kilogram in Irish pig prices, with producers reporting an average price of €2.20 per kilogram offered by processors. Some producers have indicated receiving prices even higher, in the range of 6-7 cents per kilogram above the average, suggesting strong demand for pigs.

The average reported price paid for Grade E pigs in Ireland for the week ending April 20th, 2025, was €2.14 per kilogram, excluding VAT. The current Irish price reflects a 3.7% increase compared to the same week last year, when the Grade E pig price stood at €2.07 per kilogram.

Across the European Union, the average price for a Grade E pig carcass for the week ending April 20th, 2025, was €2.00 per kilogram, excluding VAT. This represents a slight increase of 2.9% compared to the previous week’s EU average. However, the current EU average remains below the prices seen during the same month last year, when the average pig price across the EU was €2.19 per kilogram.

While pig throughput in Ireland has shown improvement in the last quarter, overall demand continues to outpace available supplies. The total throughput for the year to date stands at 972,083 pigs, which is marginally behind the corresponding period in 2024. For the week ending April 12th, 2025, the throughput was 67,693 pigs, of which 1,970 were sows.

The combination of tighter supplies and robust demand is putting upward pressure on pig prices in Ireland, contrasting with the slightly weaker price environment currently observed across the wider European Union compared to last year.

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Irish Beef Throughput Up Slightly, Prices Remain Strong but Level Off

The latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) reveal that 35,717 cattle were processed in approved plants in the week ending April 20th, 2025. This brings the total throughput for the year to date to 574,563 head, a 2% increase (or 11,296 head) compared to the 563,267 cattle processed during the same period in 2024.

Prime cattle processing in the first 16 weeks of 2025 reached 431,680 head, marking a 1.8% rise year-on-year. However, the slaughter mix has seen some shifts, with a notable decline in young bull throughput early in the year now evening out to levels similar to the same week in 2024. Steer and heifer throughput has seen a slight decrease compared to 2024. Cow throughput remains robust, with 99,507 cows processed so far this year, a significant 13% increase from 2024 levels.

While quotes from major processors have shown a consistent upward trend, reflecting a current balance between supply and demand favouring producers, the trade appears to have levelled off this week. Base quotes for steers are currently in the range of €7.50-€7.60/kg, with heifers starting at €7.60/kg to €7.70/kg. The trade for the smaller volume of young bulls remains steady, with prices of €7.50-€7.70/kg available for U grading animals under 24 months, and flat prices reaching as high as €7.80/kg for R grading bulls.

Well-fleshed O grading cows are being quoted at €7.00/kg, with good quality R grading cows fetching up to €7.30/kg. Notably, a significant proportion of the cow kill in recent months has achieved a P conformation score, leading to considerable price variations based on grade, weight, and overall quality.

For the week ending April 20th, 2025, the average price paid by Irish beef processors for R3 steers decreased slightly by 4c/kg to €7.69/kg. Despite this weekly dip, this price remains a substantial 248c/kg higher than the corresponding week in 2024. The average reported R3 heifer price for the same week increased by 4c/kg to €7.73/kg, placing it 247c/kg ahead of the equivalent week last year. It’s important to note that these reported prices exclude VAT but include all bonus payments.

Across Europe, young bull prices have maintained a strong position throughout 2025. The average reported price for R3 grading young bulls in the EU was €6.40/kg (excluding VAT) for the week ending April 20th, 2025, which is 138c/kg higher than the same week in 2024. In the UK, tighter cattle supplies and consistent demand have kept deadweight beef prices strong, with the average R3 steer price increasing slightly this week to €8.16/kg for the week ending April 20th, 2025.

 

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Food Crime Unit Granted New Powers to Combat Food Fraud in England and Wales

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) now has expanded investigatory powers to tackle food fraud more effectively across England and Wales, effective from May 2, 2025.

These powers, granted under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), allow the NFCU to operate with greater independence in the fight against serious food crime.

Key New Powers for the National Food Crime Unit

Under the new regulations, NFCU investigators can now:

• Apply for and execute search warrants independently, without relying on local police forces.

• Access and secure premises where food crime is suspected, enabling timely evidence gathering and prevention of material destruction.

These powers represent a significant step forward in allowing the NFCU to respond swiftly to food crime intelligence and progress investigations more efficiently.

“This is a major step forward in protecting the integrity of the UK food supply chain,” said a spokesperson for the FSA.

Why These Powers Matter

The NFCU was formed in 2015 following the Elliot Review into the 2013 horse meat scandal, with a mission to prevent, detect, and disrupt serious criminal activity in food supply chains. Until now, the unit had to depend on police and other agencies to carry out certain enforcement actions.

Benefits of the new powers include:

• Faster and more effective investigations into food crime.

• Greater consumer protection and support for legitimate food businesses.

• Reduced pressure on police resources, enabling them to focus on other priorities.

What Is Food Crime?

The FSA defines food crime as serious fraud involving the production, processing, distribution, or sale of food. Examples include:

• Adulteration – adding inferior or undeclared ingredients to food.

• Substitution – replacing quality ingredients with cheaper alternatives.

• Misrepresentation – false labelling or misleading claims about origin or quality.

• Use of stolen food – introducing stolen items into the supply chain.

• Illegal processing – operating outside of regulated slaughter or production rules.

• Waste diversion – reintroducing food waste into the supply chain illegally.

• Document fraud – falsifying records or traceability data.

How to Report Food Crime

The FSA urges members of the public and food industry professionals to report any suspicions to Food Crime Confidential:

• Phone (UK): 0800 028 1180

• Phone (International): +44 207 276 8787

• Online: Visit the FSA website

Strengthening Trust in the UK Food Chain

These enhanced powers mark a significant milestone in the UK’s food safety landscape. By empowering the NFCU to act independently, the FSA aims to further protect consumers, safeguard businesses, and ensure that the UK’s food supply chain remains trustworthy and transparent.

Original source: Food Standards Agency (FSA)

 

Tight Beef Supply Drives Deadweight Prices Sky High Across UK, Reports Farmers Weekly

UNITED KINGDOM – May 1, 2025 – The British beef sector is experiencing unprecedented price hikes, with deadweight cattle prices soaring by nearly 40% in just nine months due to a significant tightening of both international and domestic beef supplies. According to Farmers Weekly (FWI), the market is bracing for continued high prices.

Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), the Welsh red meat promotion body, forecasts that deadweight prices will remain consistently above £7/kg, with weekly increases already being observed. This surge sees prime cattle deadweight prices in England and Wales now sitting an impressive £2/kg higher than during the same period last year.

The increase in prices is directly linked to reduced availability. For the first quarter of 2025, UK prime cattle throughput was down 3% year-on-year, indicating fewer animals coming to market.

This sharp rise in deadweight prices is inevitably impacting consumers, who are facing retail beef prices that have increased by approximately 20%. The dynamic underscores a challenging period for consumers, while producers potentially benefit from stronger returns, albeit within a constrained supply environment.

Original source: Farmers Weekly

Lamb Market Update: Quotes, Prices, and Throughput

Quotes

Base quotes from the major processors have been falling for a number of weeks, however the week ending April 20th saw quotes take a big increase, with €8.50/kg for well finished lambs (+QA bonus) on offer. .

Relatively tight lamb supplies combined with some stability in demand from the domestic and export markets have contributed to this firming of the trade all of 2024. Tighter lamb supplies are also a feature in other key lamb producing regions of Europe and the UK with the latest Eurostat figures indicating a contraction in breeding flock numbers in many regions. The Irish ewe flock contracted by 3.7 per cent in the December 2023 census versus December 2022 levels. This decline in the ewe flock of 107,000 head is one factor contributing to the tightness in supplies.

Prices

Reported deadweight price for week ending April 20th increased by 2c/kg to €9.04/kg, reflective of an uplift for the past two weeks after a number of  weeks of consecutive price drops recorded in average prices from the major lamb processors. In the corresponding week in 2024 the reported deadweight price was €8.68/kg. The deadweight trade has slightly improved across the UK regions for week ending April 12th. Reported lamb prices in mainland GB were the equivalent of €8.26/kg  last week (-23c/kg) in Northern Ireland the latest prices for week ending April 20th 2025 was €8.10/kg.

Southern Hemisphere prices remain well below European prices however they have improved significantly over the last few weeks, narrowing the price differential with the EU. With a lead time on product shipments this recent improvement in deadweight prices should impact their competitiveness on EU markets in the medium to  longer term. Prices this week took a slight increase and fall respectively and are at €4.56/kg and €4.50/kg for Australia and New Zealand.

Throughput

There was an increase in the total sheep kill in DAFM approved plants last week to 45,708 head, compared to 34,530 the same week in 2024. Tighter supplies has been a feature of the 2025 lamb season to date with a smaller lamb crop and a difficult lambing impacting lamb availability for processing. Total TYD slaughter is down 18% on 2024 to total 657,036 head.

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Beef Market Update: Throughput and Prices

Throughput

There were 35,717 cattle processed in DAFM approved plants during the week ending April 20th 2025, taking throughput for the year to date to 574,563 head. This is a 11,296 head or 2% increase on the corresponding period in 2024 when a total of 563,267 cattle were processed.

There have been 431,680 prime cattle processed in the first 16 weeks of 2025, a 1.8% increase from the same period last year . Within this however there has been a change in the slaughter mix with a notable decline in the young bull kill early in 2025, which has this week evened out to similar level as this week in 2024. Steer and Heifer throughput has dropped slightly in comparison to 2024. Cow throughput has remained strong with 99,507 cows processed so far this year, up by 13% from 2024 levels.

Prices

Quotes from major processors have continued to trend upward and this has been reflected in a balance between supply and demand currently in favour of producers, this week saw the trade levelling off. Base quotes this week are in the region of €7.50-€7.60/kg for steers while starting quotes for heifers are €7.60/kg to €7.70/kg.

The trade for the smaller numbers of young bulls on offer remains steady with €7.50-€7.70/kg also available for U grading animals under 24 months of age, with flat prices as high as €7.80/kg available for R grading bulls.

Well fleshed O grading cows are being quoted at €7.00/kg with €7.30/kg available for good quality R grading cows. A significant proportion of the cow kill have achieved a conformation score of P in recent months and the prices available for these animals vary significantly based on grade, weight and quality.

For the week ending April 20th 2025, the average price paid by Irish beef processors for R3 steers decreases by 4c/kg to €7.69/kg. This was 248c/kg ahead of the corresponding week in 2024. The reported R3 heifer during the week ending April 20th 2025 increased by 4c/kg to €7.73/kg, placing it 247c/kg ahead of the corresponding week in 2024.

Note that reported prices exclude VAT but include all bonus payments such as in-spec bonus, breed-based producer groups etc.

EU and UK prices:

European young bull prices have held strong for all of 2025 so far. The average reported price for R3 grading young bulls was €6.40/kg (excluding VAT) for the week ending April 20th 2025. This is 138c/kg ahead of the same week last year. Tighter cattle supplies and firm demand have meant deadweight beef prices in the UK have remained strong, this week the average R3 steer price increased slightly this week to be €8.16/kg for the week ending April 20th 2025.

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