HOME produced beef and lamb was in increasing demand both at home and abroad in the first nine months of 2006 according to new figures released by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX).

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At home beef sales rose by 1.5 per cent in value from January to September to £1.3 billion while sales of lamb hit £430 million – a rise of 0.4 per cent.

On the export front demand rose even faster. In the first nine months of restrictions being lifted exports of beef shot up from 6,400 tonnes to 22,320 tonnes while at the same time lamb exports went from last year’s figure of 56,600 tonnes to 62,500 tonnes.

Our biggest foreign customers for beef were the Netherlands followed by Ireland and France while most lamb was bought by French consumers followed by Belgians and Italians.

At home the largest increases in demand in both lamb and beef came from housewives aged under 28 years who bought five per cent more beef and 12 per cent more lamb than last year.

Andrew Garvey, Head of Marketing for EBLEX, said: “These are significant increases all round and show how firm the demand is for our beef and lamb. In particular, the great deal of work we have done this year on exports seems to be paying off.”

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