Welsh lamb exports gather momentum 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.

See also: Lower demand means cautious outlook for sheep market in 2023

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.

Exports of Welsh lamb and beef are worth about £210m/year, according to HCC data.

Lamb is a popular meat in Hokkaido, the northern island, which is home to numerous sheep farms. However, other meats, such as beef, pork and chicken, dominate the market.

Beef exports surge

For the UK overall, there has been a surge in sales of beef to Europe. Exports were up 30% in the first nine months of 2022, taking total exports to 93,200t. France and the Netherlands accounted for the biggest increase.

In the domestic market, data released by Kantar show that shoppers are turning to mince as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies – spend is up 11% and mince accounted for 58% of the total volume of beef sold during the most recent period.

“As mince sales usually account for about 50-53% of sales, this is a notable difference,” said Glesni Philips, HCC intelligence, analysis and business insight executive.

“Demand for beef on the domestic market has changed because shoppers are continuing to adopt coping strategies to mitigate costs, particularly now we are in the run-up to Christmas.”

She described the increase in consumer demand for mince as a “worrying trend” for the sector.

It made it increasingly difficult to maintain carcass balance, she pointed out. “However, there may be some cost-of-living compensation for beef, as there is the potential to challenge turkey this Christmas due to price and a number of avian influenza outbreaks so far this year.”