UK: import volume of lamb 2021-2022, by country of origin

In 2022, the number one country of origin for the United Kingdom’s lamb and mutton imports was New Zealand. Imports from Oceania came to a total of about 12.6 million metric tons of lamb from New Zealand and about 5.3 million metric tons from Australia. The biggest provider of lamb and mutton from Europe was Ireland with around 3.4 million metric tons. Compared to the prior year, imports were down. However, providers such as Ireland grew in volume in these years, while imports from all countries mentioned above had shrunk.

Trade in detail

While in the past decade import values were often higher than in 2018, they have now dropped lower than any import value since 2017. In 2021, imports were valued at about 265 million British pounds, over 130 million British pounds fewer than imports in 2018.

UK lamb and mutton market

The UK had about 22.4 million sheep and lambs as of 2022, increasing slightly from the previous year. On Average, consumers purchased 32 grams of mutton and lamb per person per week in 2020/21.