Behind a seemingly stable £10.5 billion industry, the numbers reveal a UK meat sector in a state of flux, where poultry soars as red meat recedes amid export pressures and relentless cost hikes.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, UK red meat production reached 2.16 million tonnes carcass weight equivalent, a 1.5% decrease from 2021
- UK poultry meat production in 2023 was 1.98 million tonnes, up 2% from the previous year driven by broiler growth
- Beef and veal production in the UK for 2022 totalled 877,000 tonnes, down 4% year-on-year due to lower throughput
- UK per capita poultry meat consumption reached 32.5 kg in 2022, up 1.8% from 2021
- Beef and veal consumption in UK households averaged 15.2 kg per person in 2022
- Pork consumption totalled 22.1 kg per capita in 2022, stable despite price rises
- UK meat industry directly employed 82,000 people in 2022, down 1% from 2021
- Poultry processing sector had 45,000 full-time jobs in UK 2022
- Beef farming workforce totalled 28,000 in England 2022
- UK exported £5.1 billion worth of meat in 2022, up 8% from 2021
- Poultry meat exports from UK totalled 380,000 tonnes in 2022, mainly to EU
- Beef exports reached 160,000 tonnes in 2022, valued at £1.2 billion
- Meat industry GVA contributed £8.2 billion to UK economy in 2022, 0.4% of GDP
- Poultry sector turnover reached £6.5 billion in 2022 UK
- Red meat farmgate value was £7.8 billion in 2022, up 12% YoY
Poultry production rises while red meat output falls, shaping UK industry trends.
Consumption
- UK per capita poultry meat consumption reached 32.5 kg in 2022, up 1.8% from 2021
- Beef and veal consumption in UK households averaged 15.2 kg per person in 2022
- Pork consumption totalled 22.1 kg per capita in 2022, stable despite price rises
- Lamb and mutton intake was 4.8 kg per person annually in 2022 UK, down 0.2 kg
- Total meat consumption per capita in UK was 79.6 kg in 2022, with poultry at 41%
- Out-of-home poultry consumption grew 3% to 12 kg per capita in 2023
- UK bacon consumption reached 7.5 kg per person in 2022, highest in sausages at 8.2 kg
- Processed meat products accounted for 45% of total UK meat consumption in 2022
- Organic meat consumption grew 5% to 2.1 kg per capita in 2022 UK
- Poultry mince consumption surged 8% in UK retail in 2022 to 1.2 million tonnes
- Beef mince represented 35% of total beef consumption in UK homes 2022
- Sausages and burgers made up 28% of pork consumption in 2022 UK
- Lamb leg joints sales fell 4% in volume but rose 2% in value 2022
- UK takeaway chicken consumption hit 4.5 kg per capita in 2022
- Per capita turkey consumption was 2.8 kg in 2022, mostly seasonal
- Game meat consumption remained at 0.3 kg per capita in 2022 UK
- Vegan meat alternative consumption grew 12% but still only 1.5% of total meat equiv in 2022
- Household beef purchases averaged £45 per week in 2022 UK
- Pork chop sales volume up 6% in 2023 Q1 due to promotions
Consumption Interpretation
The British are now a nation of pragmatic carnivores, where chicken reigns supreme on a plate flanked by sausages, as even our rising taste for organic and plant-based options seems to be, for now, merely a side dish to our steadfast dedication to mince and wings.
Economics
- Meat industry GVA contributed £8.2 billion to UK economy in 2022, 0.4% of GDP
- Poultry sector turnover reached £6.5 billion in 2022 UK
- Red meat farmgate value was £7.8 billion in 2022, up 12% YoY
- Processing margins for beef averaged 15% in 2022 UK
- Pigmeat producer prices peaked at £2.10/kg in Q3 2022
- Retail price index for meat rose 11% in 2022 due to inflation
- Investment in UK meat processing plants totalled £450 million in 2022
- Export contribution to meat industry revenue: 20% or £2 billion in 2022
- Cost of feed for poultry producers averaged £350/tonne in 2022, up 25%
- Labour costs represented 25% of meat processing expenses in 2022 UK
- Energy costs for abattoirs surged 40% to £1,200 per tonne processed in 2022
- Farm assurance certification covered 95% of UK meat production value in 2022
- R&D spend in meat sector was £120 million in 2022, focused on efficiency
- Profitability index for sheep farms: 1.05 in 2022, marginal
- Beef farm incomes averaged £35,000 per unit in 2022 UK
- Pig farm net margin was 8% in 2022 after recovery
- Poultry integrator profits hit £1.2 billion in 2022
- Tax contributions from meat industry: £2.5 billion VAT and corp tax 2022
- Price volatility index for lamb: 18% in 2022 UK markets
Economics Interpretation
For all its heft on our dinner plates and GDP spreadsheets, the UK meat industry's 2022 was a masterclass in walking a financial tightrope, where soaring farmgate prices, retail costs, and export earnings were perpetually chased by the wolves of rocketing feed, energy, and labour bills.
Employment
- UK meat industry directly employed 82,000 people in 2022, down 1% from 2021
- Poultry processing sector had 45,000 full-time jobs in UK 2022
- Beef farming workforce totalled 28,000 in England 2022
- Pig sector employed 14,500 on farms in UK 2022, plus 20,000 in processing
- Sheep and lamb farming jobs numbered 22,000 across UK in 2022
- Total meat processing employment was 140,000 in 2022 UK, 60% skilled labour
- 15% of UK meat industry workers were EU nationals in 2022 post-Brexit
- Average wage in UK meat processing was £28,500 in 2022, up 5% YoY
- Poultry farm labour force grew 2% to 12,000 in 2022 due to expansion
- Abattoir workers totalled 18,000 in UK 2022, facing 10% vacancy rate
- Women comprised 35% of meat packing workforce in 2022 UK
- Apprenticeships in meat industry reached 4,500 starts in 2022
- Self-employed farmers in livestock meat sectors: 65,000 in 2022 UK
- UK meat supply chain supported 500,000 indirect jobs in 2022
- Training spend in meat processing hit £45 million in 2022
- Youth employment (under 25) in meat sector was 18% of total in 2022
- Regional employment: Scotland meat industry 15,000 jobs in 2022
- Turnover per employee in UK meat processing averaged £250,000 in 2022
- Labour productivity in poultry processing rose 3% to 15 tonnes per worker annually 2022
Employment Interpretation
While the UK meat industry claims a robust "field-to-fork" workforce of over 82,000 direct jobs, a closer look reveals a sector marred by troubling vacancies, a shrinking core, and a heavy reliance on skilled but potentially precarious labour, all simmering beneath a surface of modest wage gains and productivity stats.
Production
- In 2022, UK red meat production reached 2.16 million tonnes carcass weight equivalent, a 1.5% decrease from 2021
- UK poultry meat production in 2023 was 1.98 million tonnes, up 2% from the previous year driven by broiler growth
- Beef and veal production in the UK for 2022 totalled 877,000 tonnes, down 4% year-on-year due to lower throughput
- Pigmeat production in England during 2022 was 712,000 tonnes deadweight, reflecting a 5% decline amid high feed costs
- Sheepmeat production in the UK hit 364,000 tonnes in 2022, stable despite export pressures
- UK broiler production volume in Q4 2023 was 490,000 tonnes, a 1.2% increase quarter-on-quarter
- Turkey meat production fell to 142,000 tonnes in 2022 from 150,000 in 2021 due to reduced breeding flocks
- Duck and goose meat output in Great Britain was 38,000 tonnes in 2022, up slightly from 36,500 in 2021
- Total UK meat production value exceeded £10.5 billion in 2022, with poultry leading at 40%
- Clean carcass weight for UK lambs averaged 19.5 kg in 2022, down 0.3 kg from 2021 due to lighter carcases
- UK finished pig slaughterings totalled 4.85 million head in 2022, a 4% drop from prior year
- Cattle throughput for beef in UK abattoirs was 2.45 million head in 2022, decreasing 3.2%
- UK poultry sector produced 1.1 billion broilers in 2022, averaging 2.2 kg liveweight
- Rabbit meat production in the UK was approximately 1,200 tonnes in 2022, niche but stable
- Game meat production, including venison, reached 25,000 tonnes in 2022 across UK
- UK prime cattle grades (U and R) accounted for 45% of beef carcases in 2022
- Pig carcase weights averaged 82.4 kg in 2022, up 0.8 kg year-on-year
- Lamb carcase classification showed 55% in R and U grades in 2022 UK
- UK poultry meat yield per bird improved to 75% in 2023 from 74% in 2022
- Total UK red meat throughput was 10.2 million head in 2022, down 2.5%
Production Interpretation
The UK meat industry in 2022 presented a portrait of resilience and shifting plates, where the triumphant, feathery ascent of poultry to a £10.5 billion throne was meticulously carved against a backdrop of declining red meat volumes, as farmers, processors, and consumers all navigated the delicate balance between economic pressure and the enduring demand for the centerpiece of the dinner plate.
Trade
- UK exported £5.1 billion worth of meat in 2022, up 8% from 2021
- Poultry meat exports from UK totalled 380,000 tonnes in 2022, mainly to EU
- Beef exports reached 160,000 tonnes in 2022, valued at £1.2 billion
- Pigmeat exports were 220,000 tonnes in 2022 UK, down 10% due to shortages
- Lamb exports hit 100,000 tonnes in 2022, 75% to EU markets
- Top destination for UK meat exports: Philippines at £500 million in 2022
- UK meat imports totalled £4.8 billion in 2022, 60% from EU
- Poultry imports into UK were 650,000 tonnes in 2022, mostly frozen
- Pork imports reached 550,000 tonnes in 2022, up 5%
- Beef imports were 380,000 tonnes in 2022 UK
- Sheepmeat net exporter status: exported 45,000 tonnes more than imported in 2022
- UK-EU meat trade post-Brexit: £2.5 billion exports in 2022
- Third country meat exports grew 15% to 120,000 tonnes in 2022
- Value of offal exports from UK meat industry: £300 million in 2022
- Poultry export value per tonne averaged £2,800 in 2022 UK
- Import tariffs impacted UK meat imports by £150 million in 2022
- China approved 20 UK meat exporters in 2022, boosting access
- US imported £100 million UK beef in 2022 under quota
- Halal meat exports from UK totalled 50,000 tonnes in 2022
- Brexit border checks delayed 5% of meat imports in 2022
- UK meat trade surplus narrowed to £300 million in 2022
Trade Interpretation
While the UK might be a nation divided on many things, its abattoirs have forged a surprisingly united global front, shipping a barnyard's worth of premium cuts abroad—despite some domestic squabbles at the border—to maintain a delicate, and narrowing, trade surplus.
Sources & References
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