France may slaughter cows amid unfavourable weather

French beef farmers have warned they could be coerced to cull up to 10% of their meat and milk herds because the recent dry climate is causing feed costs to increase.

The Fédération Nationale Bovine (FNB) trade body said farmers could cull around 400,000 cows which would risk triggering an over-supply of meat in already depressed sector.

"We need an urgent package of substantial aid to the sector," an FNB spokesman said. "Negotiations are on-going with the government but so far, the only concrete measure it has taken has been to instruct banks to open up credit facilities in order to relieve pressure on cash-flows but this is totally inadequate."

The prices paid by abattoirs for carcasses has started to fall in recent weeks and would accelerate as more farmers opted for premature slaughtering, the spokesman added.