BORIS JOHNSON may not have got the United States trade deal he coveted – but it does seem that he has succeeded in ending the longstanding ban on British lamb imports.

As The Scottish Farmer went to press, the word from Mr Johnson's delegation to Washington was that the 'unjustified' ban on UK produced sheepmeat – a longstanding side effect of the international furore over Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, and its unclear relationship with Scrapie in sheep – was to be rescinded.

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This news comes a full year after the US ended the parallel ban on British beef imports, imposed at the same time back in 1996.

However, there has been no official announcement on the topic from the US itself, and there is no indication yet of when that huge market might start accepting lamb and lamb products from the UK.

Nonetheless, the National Sheep Association welcomed the news, saying that it would help maximise trade opportunities for UK sheep farmers.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “We are delighted about the announcement that the ban is to be lifted – the UK sheep industry has been waiting for this for many years.

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“The sheep industry in the UK has clear potential to grow further but any expansion must be market and demand led. Today’s announcement helps the supply and demand dynamics to support a strong market and potential further growth. The UK is the third largest exporter of sheepmeat globally, telling us that we are good at producing sheepmeat and that our supply chains are efficient and able to deliver.

“This creates another opportunity for our industry to maximise trade opportunities and we have always seen the US as being a potentially important market," said Mr Stocker. "After the domestic market, which takes 60 – 65% of UK production, the EU is still our largest export market and is on our doorstep. However, access is more difficult than it was when we were part of the EU. It’s essential to maintain EU access but is also important to work on any market that gives us future potential.”

Mr Stocker said that he didn't expect to see any sudden surge in volumes going to the US, but noted that there was strong demand for UK sheep genetics, as many British sheep breeds were already in the US but were numerically too small to have a strong gene pool.

“In addition, with sheep meat consumption being very low in the US we believe we can help stimulate interest in lamb and quality mutton through exporting high quality British sheepmeat that reinspires interest in the product and helps the US sheep industry to build further. We also believe we can tap into British heritage that is appreciated in the US through our many breeds and their connections to our heritage landscapes and culture."