Imports, exports and lumpy skin disease

Probably one of the nicest things in time for the upcoming holiday season here is that the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has reviewed the actions taken by the French Competent Authority (FCA) in response to the previous outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD), and lifted import restrictions from France. The restrictions on the following commodities from France have been lifted from 26 October 2026: live ungulates, fresh meat of ungulates, raw milk and raw milk products, bovine embryos, bovine semen and certain animal by-products, including hides and skins, which were included in the lumpy skin disease (LSD) declaration of special measures of 26 June 2025.

Another animal-based outbreak has been contained and trade can continue. For the past 18 months or so, it has been a source of enhanced vigilance at the borders. Meanwhile, on the export side, British cheeses have seen an uptick, with an all-time high reported by the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) in the second quarter of 32026, and volumes of total cheese increasing by 15.3% (+8,000 tonnes) year-on-year. And who bought the most cheese? The EU EU including the Netherlands (+1,800 tonnes), France (+1,600 tonnes), Belgium (+1,000 tonnes), Germany (+600 tonnes), Austria (+300 tonnes), Spain (+300 tonnes), Ireland (+200 tonnes) and Turkey (+200 tonnes). As usual, the neighbours are helping out.

Protein-rich diet demands is also driving the exports of powder products, AHDB points out. That being said, the UK has signed the Switzerland-UK trade deal, and this is expected to improve exports to the country, while the biggest gain in dairy imports for the second quarter of 2026, has been from Switzerland, with imports from non-EU countries increasing by 39.8% (+2,100 tonnes), mainly from Switzerland (+1,600 tonnes), New Zealand (+300 tonnes) and Norway (+100 tonnes).

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