No German livestock imports to NI

Following the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Water Buffalo on a farm in the Brandenburg region of Germany, a DAERA spokesperson has confirmed that no German cattle, sheep or pigs have been imported into NI in the last 12 months.

The last link to any livestock movements from Germany occurred back in June 2024 when a consignment of 62 German cattle transited NI on their way to a farm in the Republic of Ireland.

To help protect farmers from FMD, last Tuesday the UK government imposed a ban on all imports of live cattle, sheep and pigs, as well as beef, pork and dairy products, from Germany. Other countries such as Mexico and South Korea have imposed similar restrictions.

However, the UK government ban only applies to Britain, given post-Brexit arrangements which mean NI must follow EU rules for various goods. At present, only animals and animal products from a 10km surveillance zone around the farm in Brandenburg cannot be traded within the EU, including NI.

No further cases of FMD have been confirmed in Germany since those originally found on 10 January 2025.

Price increases at dairy commodity auctions

Dairy commodities have received a welcome boost with higher prices recorded at the latest New Zealand GDT and Dutch Dairy Board (DDB) auctions.

On Tuesday, the second and final GDT of January ended with the index increasing 1.4%, halting a run of back-to-back price drops. Butter rose by 2.2% with cheddar up 2.8%. Whole milk powder (WMP) jumped 5% to US $3,988/t, its highest value since July 2022, with skim milk powder (SMP) up 2%.

On Wednesday, butter rose by €40 to €7,340/t at the DDB auction, making it three consecutive increases since the start of the year. WMP and SMP were unchanged for the third week in a row at €4,430/t and €2,550/t respectively.