EU-15 beef production to drop 1.6 percent

Total 2009 beef production in the EU-15 is estimated to drop 1.6 percent to 7.1 million tonnes cwt year-on-year, according to the latest data from the Common Market Organisation Forecasting Working Group.

The EU-15 consists of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The EU-15's beef production deficit is estimated to increase 23 percent to 295,000 tonnes cwt, reducing self-sufficiency to 96 percent.

Beef production is expected to decline by another one percent in 2010, adding a 17-percent increase to its deficit. The gap will need to be filled in by larger imports as consumption is expected to remain stable.

Total beef imports in the EU have increased 14 percent on-year during the calendar year to July 2009 to 133,900 tonnes swt. Argentina was the main supplier, accounting for 33 percent of the total, followed by Uruguay at 29 percent and Brazil at 14 percent.