EU beef production has fallen by 169,000t year-on-year to 4.2 million tonnes (Mt) from January to August of 2025 versus 2024.
A recent report by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) also highlighted that the total EU beef imports have increased by 22,500t or 13% to 195,600t from January to September.
This increase has been driven primarily by imports from South American countries.
Data from the European Commission indicates that of the main EU beef producing nations, The Netherlands has experienced the steepest decrease in beef production of 11% or 31,000t to 255,000t, followed by Germany with an 8% or 50,000t decrease to 607,000t.
Beef output from France, the largest EU producer, fell by 3% or 26,000t to 832,000t.
Irish beef production has fallen by 6% or just over 20,000t.
Over the same period, the total EU cattle slaughter fell to 13.9 million head, a decrease of 5% or 804,000 head of cattle.
The AHDB report noted that the total prime beef production decreased by approximately 2% to reach an estimated 2.4Mt.
The total EU cow beef production fell to 1.2Mt, a decrease of 5%, with Ireland seeing a significant (15%) decrease. The total cow slaughter numbers decreased by 6% to 3.8 million head.
EU beef imports
Total EU imports of fresh and frozen beef for January to September of 2025 have increased by 15% or 28,500t year-on-year to 223,900t.
The UK remains the top supplier in terms of volume, shipping 69,500t across the period. This volume is down -1% year-on-year.
The majority of growth in EU beef imports this year have come from South America.
Brazil has increased beef export volumes to the EU by 26% or 11,100t whilst Argentina and Uruguay increased by 21% or 7,700t) and 32% or 7,900t) respectively.
“Brazilian beef exports have maintained a strong pace, reaching record high levels throughout 2025, supported by competitive pricing and strong production levels,” according to the AHDB.
