January 26, 2005

 

 

UK's beef industry bullish

 

Generally reckoned to be the most vulnerable agricultural sector following the revamping of the EU farm regime, US beef production still faces challenges on how to expand production.

 

Some methods range from inbuilt consumer demand for the home-sourced product on quality and taste grounds to the high-tech world of genomics and its ability to produce superior goods at lower prices.

 

But the most immediate problem spelt out at the opening session of the British Cattle Breeders' Club annual conference, was to get processors and retailers on side to bump up prices.

 

"The greatest opposition comes from slaughterers who hold out little hope of an early and substantial lift in the market and are praying that you will continue to underwrite their activity and use your single farm payment to fill the gap between market price and cost of production," said a spokesperson for the conference.

 

Retailers, who also wanted prices down, are another challenge to farmers. "This is why we have asked the Office of Fair Trading to accept that, because farmers will no longer be able to subsidise the rest of the industry, the beef industry will have to reconsider its method of apportioning price and value on both home-killed cattle and retail beef if it wishes to use UK production as its mainstream supply."

 

The UK's National Beef Association (NBA) believes that giving further beef discounts would drive UK beef off the market and reduce consumer choice.

 

Kevin Roberts, director-general of the Meat and Livestock Commission, was considerably more bullish. UK beef demand last year was the strongest since 1995.

 

With EU production falling and the prospect of developing home and export market, opportunities looked even stronger.

 

But real progress depended on differentiation through improved breeding, finishing and processing techniques. "Genetic improvement through selective breeding is a highly potent tool for producing cattle that match current market demands and can be adapted to future market needs," he said.

 

Using available tools and research, breeders could achieve two or three times the current rate of progress.

 

"If we keep up the momentum we have all created we can consistently produce the high-quality British beef which consumers want to buy and will be willing to pay for. With the SFB in place, the brakes are off for inventiveness."

 

He pointed out that the New Zealand sheep industry had increased lamb output per ewe by 54 percent in the 20 years since subsidies were removed there; at the same time UK output had improved by 4 percent.