UK livestock farmers express fury over a surge in cheaper Australian, New Zealand, and Brazilian beef imports flooding supermarket shelves, enabled by post-Brexit trade deals, amid claims of inferior welfare standards and hormone use that threaten domestic producers already grappling with subsidy cuts and declining cattle numbers.
farmers across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are protesting the influx of low-priced beef from Australia into UK supermarkets like Morrisons and Asda, where it sells for nearly 20 per cent less than British produce, a development accelerated by the UK-Australia free trade agreement that came into force in 2023.
Supermarkets Stock Cheaper Imports Amid Farmer Backlash
Australian beef imports to the UK reached approximately 5,500 tonnes in 2024, marking a 180 per cent increase year-on-year and valued at £46.8 million, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), as retailers such as Morrisons offer steaks labelled “Australian or British” and Asda sells Uruguayan cuts alongside domestic meat.
According to David Barton for Beef Central, “This undermines the confidence of British farmers, particularly where imported produce is potentially produced to lower welfare standards than British produce,” with NFU Livestock Board Chair David Barton highlighting concerns over Australian feedlot systems, hormone use, long-distance haulage, and hot branding that differ from UK grass-based finishing.
Trade Deals Fuel Import Surge Despite Underused Quotas
The UK-Australia free trade agreement, implemented in 2023, expanded access beyond a previous split quota of 3,761 tonnes shared with the EU, yet Australia utilised only 15 per cent of its 43,300-tonne quota in 2024, as reported by AHDB, while imports from Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand more than doubled overall in 2025 per the Irish Farmers Journal.
Liberal Democrat MP and Unions Demand Accountability
Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron criticised Morrisons on X for listings allowing Australian sourcing, stating “This is appalling from Morrisons. They seek kudos for their UK sourcing but then sneakily do this, undermining British farmers and undermining their own integrity and brand,” according to The Telegraph, while NFU’s David Barton told the outlet, “It is disappointing, because what we’re looking for as an industry is to grow production. We need confidence, and when supermarkets start messing around like this, it really doesn’t fill us with confidence.”
Safety Fears Escalate with Brazilian Beef Recall
Imports of cheap fresh and frozen beef from Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand into the UK more than doubled in 2025, driven by post-Brexit deals signed by the previous Tory government, with the European Commission issuing a recall in early December 2025 for hormone-contaminated Brazilian frozen beef affecting Northern Ireland, as detailed by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Ulster Farmers’ Union deputy president Glenn Cuddy described it as “an extremely serious public-health incident,” adding, “For years, farmers here have operated under some of the strictest food-safety, traceability, and animal-health standards in the world. Yet we are now seeing products enter our market from systems that do not meet the same basic requirements,” and the UFU has written to the Food Standards Agency seeking clarification on import controls.
A Food Standards Agency spokesperson in Northern Ireland confirmed a small quantity of primal cuts from Brazil entered in September 2025 with an expiry of 31 October 2025, stating there is “no evidence” of hormone-contaminated beef remaining on sale locally, per the Irish Farmers Journal.
The “big four” supermarkets—Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons—face accusations of failing to back British farmers, with examples including New Zealand Wagyu burgers at Sainsbury’s, Australian and New Zealand products at Morrisons, Uruguayan steak at Asda, and Tesco’s 300g lamb leg steaks “produced in the UK or New Zealand,” despite prior commitments to prioritise domestic sourcing, as reported by The Telegraph.
David Barton noted for Beef Central that imported beef sells for close to 20 per cent less than UK meat for prime cuts like sirloin, against strong UK prices of 633 pence per kilogram deadweight for premium beef and 533p/kg for cull cows last week.
UK cattle population fell 1.7 per cent to 7.54 million head as of April 2025, with producer confidence at an all-time low, according to Beef Central citing NFU data.
Livestock farmers claim the big four retailers disadvantage them by stocking imports during a domestic industry struggle, per The Telegraph.
Labour government changes to subsidies are pushing up UK meat costs, potentially opening doors for more cheap imports, as commented by an industry figure to Beef Central: “Farm subsidies keep the cost of food in the UK lower and if they disappear, those prices will shoot up.”
AHDB reports a price differential with Australian deadweight steer prices £3.48/kg lower than UK in the week ending 14 March, alongside higher Australian availability that could spur greater imports, though the UK takes only 0.4 per cent of Australia’s total beef export volumes.
In January 2025, Australian imports rose 436 tonnes or 185 per cent year-on-year but comprised just 3 per cent of total UK beef imports, with quotas set to expand over eight years.
Supermarkets have made commitments to selling British beef, yet customers and farmers observe more frequent appearances of distant-sourced meat, according to The Telegraph.
The NFU opinion piece via Beef Central accused retailers of reneging on pledges to source British beef.
David Barton, a Cotswolds-based beef farmer, chairs the NFU livestock board and voiced disappointment over supermarket practices to The Telegraph.
A person familiar with the situation told The Telegraph that Tesco had not altered its sourcing policy.
UK farmers cite Australian feedlots, hormone use, haulage, and branding as welfare mismatches to UK standards, per Beef Central.
Government Policies and Market Pressures Mount
Post-Brexit free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, signed under the previous Conservative government, enable lower-priced entries, contributing to the import surge outlined by the Irish Farmers Journal, while UK beef prices remain robust at farmgate and retail levels as noted by Beef Central.
AHDB anticipates monitoring impacts as Australian quotas grow, given tight global supply and competition from larger markets like the US and Asia.
The influx challenges British producers amid subsidy shifts under Labour, exacerbating low confidence and herd declines reported by Beef Central.
UK farmers continue to voice outrage over cheaper Australian beef dominating shelves under trade deals, citing welfare disparities and safety risks from Brazilian imports, as imports double and quotas expand despite partial utilisation, with unions and politicians pressing supermarkets and regulators for stronger protections and transparency.
