EU beef imports decreases but Mercosur share increases

Imports of beef into the European Union in the first half of 2019 decreased slightly compared to the same period last year – but the share from Mercosur increased considerably.

Three of Mercosur’s members – Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay – were the main sources of EU beef imports in the first six months of 2019, together representing 78.5% of the 158,004 tons imported in the period.

According to statistics released by the European Commission, total imports from January to June last year were 163,946 tons, of which these three countries accounted for 77%.

The value imported from these three countries from January to June 2019 is as follows:

Brazil – 64,328 t;

Argentina – 35,554 t;

Uruguay – 24,159 t;

Other – 33,963 t;

Total – 158.00 t

These numbers are equivalent to an individual percentage per country of 40.7% for Brazil, 22.5% for Argentina, and 15.2% for Uruguay.

In terms of value of these imports, the total value is €868m for the year so far, of which €613m was contributed by the same three countries: €257m in Brazil, €215m in Argentina, and €141m in Uruguay.

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