Aussie beef is all the rage in UK supermarkets with the latest retailer Morrisons customers won over by the superior taste quality
When a tariff-reducing trade deal between Australia and the UK went into effect in May 2023, several large retailers in the UK made a point of saying they would not be stocking Aussie beef in particular.
However, with Aussie beef readily available at competing stores, one of the last large retailers not stocking our beef, Morrisons, has also relented and is the latest to meet the demand of its hungry customers.
The reason the Morrisons deflection is of particular interest is due to its former policy of only selling 100% British-sourced meat.
Morrisons is selling the Aussie-grown and imported meat under new labelling called Limited Edish, with succulent ribeye and sirloin steaks leading the charge.
The Aussie beef on offer has been neatly positioned in terms of pricing between the Morrison standard steak range and its top-tier premium range, with the Aussie version coming in at a retail price of $62/kg (GPB30/kg). And while that may not look cheap to us, many UK residents now consider Aussie beef as the best quality available.
Trade deal between AU and UK
A more favourable trade deal to send more Aussie produce to the UK was struck in December 2021 for the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but didn’t pass all the red tape until 31 May 2023.
At the time of the agreement being struck, Australia’s agricultural trade with the UK in 2020-21 was worth $823 million with key exports including wine ($514m), lamb and mutton ($77m), beef and veal ($11m), pulses ($15m), wool ($8m) and nuts ($7m).
The new deal meant that over 99% of our produce could enter the UK duty-free. These include some of our key exports, such as wine, short and medium grain rice, sugar, honey, nuts, olive oil and food supplements.
By the third quarter of 2023, sheep meat exports to the UK were $31 million, a 34.5% increase compared to the same quarter in 2022 when the FTA was not in place.
During the same period, beef exports increased nearly fourfold from $4.2 million to $16.6 million, for the third quarter alone.
And off the back of horticulture tariff reductions, Australian-grown tomatoes were for sale in major UK retail outlets for the first time.
Now, at the two-year anniversary of the implementation of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, it has delivered outstanding results for many farm operations.
For example, Australian beef and veal exports to the UK were worth $97.8 million in 2024, more than double that of the previous year, 2023, and around eight times what beef exports to the UK were worth in 2022.
Export value of farm produce
Demand for Aussie farm produce is expected to be strong in season 2025-26 with a value of around $71.7 billion.
This early in the season forecast if realised would be a 3.4% fall in agricultural export values when compared to last year but may improve as rain has come to several regions since the forecast.
On the plus side, red meat export volumes have grown steadily over the last three years, driven by rising production and strong demand from the United States, China, Japan and emerging markets in the Middle East.
Livestock and livestock product export pricesare expected to rise, up by 1.5%, reflecting strong global demand for meat and dairy products.
While crop export volumes are forecast to fall by 1.5% due to lower production volumes that will reduce exportable supply. However, crop export pricesare expected to rise slightly, up by 0.6%, driven by tightening global stocks across many major crop commodities.
Demand from China, our largest agricultural export market, is expected to remain resilient overall, supported by Chinese fiscal and monetary stimulus measures. China accounted for nearly a quarter of the total value of Australian agricultural, forestry and fisheries exports in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, exports to the US are likely to remain resilient despite the threat of US tariffs.
While a 10% baseline tariff currently applies for most Australian imports, the US market comprised 9.8% of the total value of Australian agricultural exports in 2023-24, with the majority of exports being beef and other meat products.
Up until now, the United States has been an important market for Aussie beef and other meat products, representing almost 80% of the total Australian agricultural export values to the US in 2023-24 and almost one-third of total Australian meat exports.
US demand for Australian beef is expected to remain robust given existing market access arrangements, declining US beef production, and a low Australian dollar. With an average increase of 4.1% per year for the last 5 years.
