Most German meat and dairy commercial imports are now allowed back into the UK after ministers agreed the country’s recent foot and mouth disease outbreak had been contained.
The import ban on meat and dairy products from Germany in place since mid January was amended on Tuesday after Britain officially recognised regionalisation for FMD at the containment zone level – meaning the rules only apply to a 6km radius around the outbreak.
Consequently, the export of affected commodities can resume from areas outside this zone, Defra said, adding it would “not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity” if the situation changed.
The ban covered cattle, pigs, sheep, deer, buffalo and their products such as meat, and dairy from Germany – the third-largest exporter of pigmeat to the UK with an 18% market share, as well as the second-largest exporter of dairy products to the UK with a 12% market share, AHDB data showed.
From January to October 2024, the UK imported from Germany around 117,340 tonnes of pigmeat worth £448m, 130,000 tonnes of dairy worth £283m, as well as 6,796 tonnes of beef worth £23.2m and 85 tonnes of sheepmeat valued at £963,000 - according to AHDB.
The ban has also had an impact on meat prices, the International Meat Trade Association’s strategy director Katrina Walsh told an Efra committee hearing this week.
”Germany was the biggest fresh pork supplier to the UK last year and we do also import beef processed and prepared pork and sausages from there, so there has been an impact on availability.
”We have also seen beef prices currently are very high and supply is quite tight, which could be influenced by Germany not having been allowed to export for that period”, she added. “But also there are other factors going on in the beef industry as well affecting prices.”
IMTA’s chief Katie Doherty said the group welcomed news that the UK had recognised regionalisation for Germany following a thorough risk assessment.
“Germany is an important supplier of meat to the UK market. Regionalisation is a measure that balances the cruciality of UK biosecurity with the need to access imported sources of supply to ensure UK food security.”
Read more: Foot and mouth disease: how prepared is the UK?
The comments come just weeks after it emerged that German foodstuffs covered by the ban may have entered the UK because of a border tech issue that failed to flag potentially affected consignments.
And there are still concerns about the spread of FMD across Europe after more cases were recently discovered in Hungary and Slovakia.
Doherty added: “The constantly evolving animal disease landscape is one of many reasons why Defra must ensure that there is sufficient resourcing of import policy and veterinary trade experts. These officials are essential for UK biosecurity, food security and trade.”
The full ban of personal imports of packaged and unpackaged meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, certain composite products and animal by products of pigs and ruminants from Germany will still remain in place.
FMD poses no risk to humans or food safety, but is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals, and can lead to major losses for the livestock industry.
The latest big outbreak in the UK in 2001 resulted in the slaughter of over six million animals and caused financial losses estimated at £8bn at the time.
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