'Double lamb whammy': Japan and Germany agree Welsh Lamb deals
Sheep farmers in Wales have hailed a 'double lamb whammy' as Japan and Germany open their doors to imports of Welsh Lamb.
Hybu Cig Cymru (Meat Promotion Wales) has announced new export deals at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair on Monday (27 November).
“I can tell you today that Welsh Lamb is on its way to Japan,” revealed HCC chair, Catherine Smith.
“It will be arriving this week and we now have firm plans to build on that with a significant launch into Food Service businesses in Japan early in the new year.”
She said supplying Japan had taken years of negotiation and persistence, adding it "would not be possible on the scale that it has been carried out without the brilliance of our farmers."
Japan, a traditionally low consumer of lamb, has been identified as a key target market for the Welsh red meat sector, with it being one of the world’s largest beef importers.
It opened its doors to imports of UK beef and lamb in January 2019 following its 1996 bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) ban.
In what she called a 'double Welsh Lamb whammy', Ms Smith highlighted a further major export deal in the sheep sector's European customer base.
“Our work in the export market has also borne fruit in one of our key European territories," she told guests at today's HCC industry breakfast event.
"A new agreement was progressed that could see Welsh Lamb stocked in up to a further 1,000 stores in a major German retail chain.”
Ms Smith explained that Welsh livestock was a billion-pound industry, with total farm income at more than £600m and employing just under 50,000 people.
"Exports are worth £258 million - and you’ve just heard we’re on our way to more in 2024 - and our 8.7m sheep and 1.1 million cattle produce around 90,000 tonnes of red meat each year," she said.
“These figures show we’re at the head of the Welsh economy - but we’re also the heart of the Welsh economy.
"Our industry is an all-embracing term for our majestic patchwork quilt of production, our incredible network of traditional family farms."
