March 27, 2009

EU beef production is forecast to decline slightly but continuously over the period from 2008 to 2015, by 400,000 tonnes to 7.9 million tonnes by 2015 due to structural reduction in cattle herd, caused by declining cattle prices and the further impact of payment decoupling.

In contrast to previous years, cattle prices reached record highs last year as a result of high demand and tight EU and import supplies, especially from Brazil and Argentina, due to traceability and export policy related issues.

Imports are expected to increase by 60 percent to 608,200 tonnes over the period, influenced by a slower decrease in consumption over production, declining exports and the gradual re-accession of Brazilian and Argentinean beef supplies after bottoming in 2008.