The legislation, aimed at tackling global deforestation, requires that all beef products entering the EU market must be demonstrably deforestation-free — including verification that cattle have not been raised on deforested land or fed using deforestation-linked feed.

The EU accounts for more than 80% of all UK beef exports, a trade worth over half a billion pounds annually. Failure to comply with EUDR requirements would jeopardise this vital market, threatening the financial stability of UK beef and dairy farmers and the wider meat processing industry. Not only that, if we lose the ability to sell products to the EU that can’t find a market in the UK, the resulting loss of revenue would have to be made up in the domestic market which could push up prices.

A practical, proportionate solution — but we can’t do it alone

BMPA along with other industry stakeholders have developed a proportionate and pragmatic proposal to meet EUDR compliance requirements. This solution would build on existing traceability systems — specifically linking ear-tag data with geolocation records throughout an animal’s life. By consolidating data at the processor level, the approach avoids unnecessary burdens on primary producers, maintains full compliance and is the most cost effective solution.

However, the industry cannot implement this solution without active Government collaboration. There are implementation challenges that can only be progressed with the European Commission that need UK government intervention. We are urgently asking Defra to work with us on two key questions.

First, how can national cattle holding geolocation data be accessed and used to support the required annual due diligence declarations via the EU’s Traces NT system?

Second, how can cattle traceability data be maintained across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, especially given the upcoming disaggregation of the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) in 2026?

Government needs to act now

To avoid a catastrophic breakdown in trade, we are urging Defra and the wider UK Government to do two things. They must urgently appoint a UK Competent Authority to manage EUDR requirements in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

They must also start now to engage with the EU Commission to secure a “low-risk” designation for UK beef, based on our robust traceability systems and sustainable production standards.