Australian beef starts flowing to United Kingdom customers

Australian beef reaches customers in the UK under the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement.

RED meat from Australia has started flowing into the United Kingdom under the recently announced Australia-United Kingdom free trade agreement.

The new quotas opened on June 16, and processor JBS Australia has announced that meat has already been delivered.

JBS arranged its first consignment, an assortment of JBS Aberdeen Black beef products, including hindquarter and loin cuts.

The branded beef product is sourced form the Riverina and meets the specifications of the trade deal.

Aberdeen Black cattle are hormone growth promotant-free, pasture reared, and then finished on a high-quality grain diet.

JBS Australia chief executive officer chief executive officer Brent Eastwood said the company was looking forward to strengthening trading ties with customers and partners in the UK.

Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt said the UK Free Trade Agreement was one of the most comprehensive and ambitious FTAs Australia had signed.

The new bilateral trading agreement allows an increased tariff-free beef quota volume of 35,000 tonnes initially for 2023, with volume increase allowances due over the coming nine years.

Australia-UK Red Meat Market Access Taskforce chairman Andrew McDonald said the FTA provided a framework for business with British customers.

The Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement was agreed in principle in June 2021 and signed on December 17, 2021, but only came into effect this year.