In May, UK exports of fresh and frozen pork increased by 15% on the year to 19.1 thousand tonnes, according to latest data from HMRC.
This is the first month since the start of the year that volumes have recorded an annual rise. Furthermore, increased average prices led to the value of May’s shipments rising by nearly 40% on the year to £26.6 million.
A rise in volumes shipped to European markets, especially Denmark (+38%) to 2,650 tonnes and Germany (+18%) to 2,780 tonnes, was the main driving force behind the overall increase. On the other hand, exports to Poland collapsed to only 20 tonnes on the year in May, likely partly driven by the fall in import demand as production has been increasing. Interestingly exports to some third countries also contributed to the annual rise in May. While shipments to China remained relatively stable on the year, Hong Kong imported 44% (330 tonnes) more British pork and UK exports to South Korea more than trebled to over 270 tonnes.
UK imports of fresh and frozen pork climbed once again on the year in May, by 17% to 40.1 thousand tonnes. Similar to April, but in contrary to months previous, the increase was not primarily driven by Danish shipments. Imports from Denmark in May, actually fell on the year by 6% to 12.6 thousand tonnes. The main driving force behind the overall rise in May was a 45% rise in volume shipped from Germany. Likewise, the UK imported more pork on the year from the Netherlands and Ireland. The 4% increase in bacon imports in May hides the one third reduction for Denmark, being more than offset by an increase of 46% for the Netherlands compared to a year earlier.
