The UK and Switzerland have concluded negotiations on a new Free Trade Agreement which could create valuable new opportunities for British beef and lamb exporters.

While the agreement is being promoted primarily for its benefits to services trade, it also delivers improved market access for a range of UK agri-food products. For meat processors, the most significant changes are reductions in tariffs on beef and the removal of tariffs on sheep meat within existing Swiss World Trade Organisation (WTO) quotas.

For fresh boneless beef, Switzerland will reduce the tariff by 35% within its WTO quota, which AHDB says is the best market access Switzerland has ever offered for beef under a Free Trade Agreement.

This could be particularly significant given the type of market Switzerland represents. UK beef exports to Switzerland have averaged just 117 tonnes over the last three years, but at an average value of £29/kg they are worth around £3 million annually. Switzerland is a high-value market where consumers are prepared to pay for premium beef, potentially providing opportunities for high-quality, grass-fed, hormone-free British product.

Competition is strong, however. Around 58% of Switzerland’s boneless beef imports in 2025 came from the EU, particularly Austria, Germany and Ireland, while other suppliers include Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Australia and the USA.

There is potentially an even clearer opportunity for UK sheep meat exporters. UK sheep meat will become tariff-free within Switzerland’s WTO quota, putting British exporters on a level playing field with EU suppliers.

The UK is already Switzerland’s fourth-largest lamb supplier behind New Zealand, Australia and Ireland, with UK trade worth around £5.5 million in 2025. AHDB believes UK lamb should remain competitive against New Zealand product due to its price advantage, although Switzerland and New Zealand have announced plans to begin their own trade negotiations.

Importantly, the concessions do not extend across all meat sectors. Pork and poultry are classed as sensitive products and have been excluded from the deal, meaning there will be no equivalent new market access for those sectors under the agreement.

There are also important caveats around timing. The full text of the agreement has not yet been released, so it is too early to assess all the implications for UK agricultural trade. The deal must also be approved by both the UK and Swiss parliaments before it can come into force.

For beef and lamb processors, however, the direction is positive. Reduced tariffs should make British product more competitive in a relatively small but high-value export market. BMPA will be watching closely as the detail of the final agreement, its implementation timetable and precisely how exporters will be able to make use of the new access emerges. AHDB’s latest analysis has all the detail so far.

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