Export Ban Risks Glut Of Meat in UK
UK - The first sale of live cattle in Scotland since the onset of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey was held on Monday in Orkney, with farmers reporting an excellent trade for the relatively low numbers presented.
15 August 2007
2 minute read
I realise that this is not always an option, but with plenty of grass and hopefully a bit of summer sunshine, there is an opportunity to flesh up older cattle to gain more kilos
Jim Kennedy, chairman of the SBCA
There is little panic over the sales of cattle, even on the mainland, with the Scottish Beef Cattle Association (SBCA) yesterday urging producers to take a pragmatic approach and to try to match supply with demand.
Jim Kennedy, chairman of the SBCA, said: "The key to stability will be in maintaining the forward momentum in prices before the FMD crisis hit us ten days ago. However, it would be in every farmer's interest to hold back on sales of cull cows to give the market a chance to re-establish, with prices likely to firm for both young cattle and older animals.
"I realise that this is not always an option, but with plenty of grass and hopefully a bit of summer sunshine, there is an opportunity to flesh up older cattle to gain more kilos, as well as secure better values."
Sheep farmers are in an altogether more difficult situation. This is the peak season for lamb marketing and there are real concerns that prices may crash.
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the red meat promotional agency, says that in a normal year, nearly a quarter of all sheep meat reared in Scotland is exported, mostly to France, with a gross value close to £18 million. Last August Scottish abattoirs processed about 32,000 lambs a week. Nearly half of last year's lambs were transported for slaughter in England and Wales.
If the export trade does not resume for the statutory three-month period, as laid down in EU regulations following confirmation of FMD, Britain will be saddled with an extra 25,000 tonnes of product.
Source: Scotsman
