Poland, much like Ireland, relies heavily on exports when it comes to beef. A country 10 times the size of Ireland in area, it produces 373,000t of which 323,000t is exported. This ranks Poland as the second largest exporter in Europe after Ireland.
According to the UK meat marketing body AHDB Beef & Lamb, Polish exports for the first nine months of 2015 were up by 23%. While consistent growth was shown throughout the year, it was the third quarter which seen the most growth, increasing by 34%.
Shipments to the UK saw the largest increase, up 75% in the first nine months of 2015, which amounted to 11,100 tonnes. This means Poland, now the third largest supplier of beef to the UK, has a market share of 5%.
While the zloty relative to sterling will have helped competitiveness, Poland still managed a 14% increase in the unit tonne value of its beef trade with the UK.
Ireland still largest beef supplier to the UK
Ireland is currently the largest supplier to the UK, which, according to Northern Ireland’s Livestock & Meat Commission, accounting for 70.5% of all UK beef imports in the first nine months of the year. This is up 8% on the same levels last year and Irish shipments are 10 times larger than Polish ones.
The rise of Poland’s exports is largely down to Polish beef being able to obtain a presence at the bottom end of the market, at a time when demand in the EU is for lower-priced beef. This strategy has allowed them to open markets such as Italy and Germany, which now account for 40% of Poland’s exports. Helped too by recent large investments in Polish processing facilities, including Larry Goodman’s ABP, it is likely that growth will increase further, possibly adding a threat to some of Ireland’s current and future export markets.