KENILWORTH, ENGLAND — In 2022, lamb exporters in the UK will have access to the American market, worth an estimated $48.9 million in the first five years of trade.

After extensive risk evaluations, US authorities have removed the small ruminant rule, which was introduced more than 20 years ago banning imports of lamb from countries where scrapie had been identified, according to four UK red meat levy organizations.

“Work has been ongoing to finalize this important piece of legislation in the US, effectively allowing UK processors to be eligible to ship lamb following final agreement on the Export Health Certificate.”

The four UK red meat levy bodies — the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Livestock and Meat Commission Northern Ireland (LMC) — will continue to work with government and the UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP) on this to support the commencement of commercial trade.

“This is fantastic news for our sheep producers and exporters, and we are delighted that US customers will have the opportunity to experience our high-quality lamb products in 2022,” said AHDB International Market Development Director Phil Hadley. “Today’s announcement means lamb exports will complement our existing pork and beef trade to the US, which was worth an impressive £22 million to industry in the first nine months of 2021.”