The EU imported 17 per cent less sheepmeat during the quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.
March shipments were down 10 per cent despite an earlier Easter in 2012.
Shipments from New Zealand were back by 15 per cent to 37,400 tonnes, reflecting tighter domestic supplies with lamb production running 3 per cent lower at 243,000 tonnes for the first seven months of the 2011/12 marketing season up to the end of April.
While overall volumes have fallen, imports of chilled sheepmeat were up 6 per cent to 18,000 tonnes.
Shipments were up from most suppliers with New Zealand accounting for nearly 90 per cent of total supplies. However, this was still almost a third below 2010 levels.
Frozen shipments fell by 29 per cent on the year to 24,000 tonnes with shipments from most regions significantly down.
Overall import values per tonne were almost 19 per cent higher than 2011 up to the end of March.
This was helped by the increased volumes of chilled product while the average price of frozen sheepmeat was almost 16 per cent higher than comparable 2011 levels.
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Source: Argentine Beef Packers S.A.
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