The cost of living crisis is forcing consumers to cut back on their meat intake, according to AHDB analysis.

Inflation is now neck and neck with health as the top driver of meat reduction, the levy board says.

Consumers who believe that beef and red meat currently have good prices and offers has now reduced to only 10% and 6% respectively.

High prices are particularly damaging for cuts such as roasting joints and steaks where higher prices are a barrier for many consumers.

Consumers may choose to opt for cheaper cuts such as, but AHDB’s consumer tracker is showing larger proportions of the public now perceiving mince as expensive, rising from 11% to 19% over the last 12 months.

Demand for hind quarter cuts is likely to drop further as inflationary pressures are also likely to put a brake on food service recovery.

by Farming UK 

Poor demand for pork and low prices in Europe are continuing to hold back the UK pork market, according to Thames Valley Cambac.

Today, the Tribune bacon price edged towards £2/kg, hitting 196.5p/kg, while the SPP was up another 2.49p to 188.9p/kg last week – a new record, having risen more than 50p since mid-February and 30p ahead of a year ago – things look rosier.

However, the reality is that, even though £2/kg is now almost in sight, the average price producers are receiving remains well short of average costs, particularly as it takes time for any reductions in feed ingredient prices to translate into feed costs. The June average cost of 244p/kg, calculated by AHDB, was 4p on the May figure.

In its latest weekly market update, TVC said: “While supply continues to tighten, demand faltered again with poor sales being blamed. Although we are in a traditionally quieter sales period, it is still frustrating that demand is seemingly so poor.

“In reality, some of the blame can be pointed at the low prices in Europe putting a brake on our trade by its continual source of cheap imports. Indeed, many of our fresh meat customers are experiencing this, and it is undercutting our ability to push prices.

“Most of these imports are entering the country unchecked, and considering the latest spread of ASF in Germany, we echo the calls by NPA and others that the government must improve our border controls.”

Alistair Driver / Pig World

AHDB is reviewing all its services for pork levy payers, as it faces up to a future with a reduced levy and undergoes a restructure following the recent Shape the Future vote.

The pork levy, which totalled around £9m in 2021/22, is under pressure two fronts. HMRC informed AHDB earlier this year of a change to its VAT status, meaning it can no longer recover VAT on goods and services paid for by the levy.

While AHDB continues to press its case, the change came into force on April 1, and is expected cost the levy body around £4m across its four remaining sectors, reducing spending capacity by around 9%.

In addition, AHDB is budgeting for a reduction in its 2022/23 pork levy of up to 15%, in light of the ongoing contraction of the national pig herd, according to pork sector chairman Mike Sheldon. “That is substantial, although there are no guarantees the reduction will be that big,” he said.

It means the budget will not be big enough to cover the pork sector services AHDB currently provides, with some probably having to go altogether and others receiving less funding.

“Everything we do is under scrutiny” Mr Sheldon added. “There are no exceptions. We will be considering what levy payers think of a particular activity, what value we generate from it and whether it something no-one else can do.”

Alistair Driver/ Pig World

Brazilian exports of beef during the second half of the year should keep their bullish pace anticipates a report from Netherlands Rabobank, given the strong demand from China, United States, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, reflected in an estimated 10% tonnage increase over 2021.

The Chinese market remains the largest destination for Brazilian beef, increasing its share to 49% of the total shipped, with 437,000 tons purchased by end of May. The increase is 38% compared to the previous year’s period, Rabobank points out.
The United States comes in second, representing a total of 8% of the total exported and totaling 71 thousand tons in the same period, up 110% year-on-year.

As a result, in terms of volume, exports totaled 887 thousand tons valued at US$ 5 billion, a 25% and 56% increase respectively, in the half year annual comparison.
In effect exports of beef from Brazil reached an average of 8.160 tons per day until the third week of June vis-a-vis 6.680 tons in the same month of 2021, data from the Department of Foreign Trade (Secex) has shown.

The positive performance occurs despite China having temporarily suspended shipments from a few Brazilian meatpacking plants since April as part of Beijing’s lockdown policy to contain an outbreak of Covid 19.

MercoPress

JAKARTA, July 6 (Reuters) – An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia threatens to disrupt a ritual of slaughtering animals to mark the festival of Eid al-Adha this year, with livestock traders in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation bemoaning low sales.

Eid Al-Adha, known as the “Festival of Sacrifice”, is one of the main holidays in the Islamic calendar and this year falls on July 9.

In the lead up to celebrations, makeshift pens housing cows and goats typically appear around busy thoroughfares in the Indonesian capital and around the country. Traditionally, devout Muslims slaughter the animals and share the meat with the poor.

But this year the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), a contagious viral disease that impacts cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, has significantly dampened sales.

“This year is a year of loss for us,” said Jamal Lulay, a trader in West Java who has only sold 50 cows this year.

“Before COVID, we could sell up to 330 cows, and during COVID it was around 170… This year sales have dropped drastically.”

By Johan Purnomo / Reuters

2022 and beyond will go down as being among the most challenging periods for Scotland’s red meat sector since the industry faced the foot-and-mouth outbreaks of 2001 and 2007 and the emergence of BSE in the 1980s.

“Rising costs, continuing labour shortages and the challenge to hit net zero targets, head a hit list of pressures for farmers, processors and retailers to address over the coming months,” said Ian Bentley, newly elected president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW).

Gordon Davidson / Scottish Farmer

WELLINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) – New Zealand dairy, sheep and beef farmers are largely disappointed by the newly signed New Zealand-European Union free trade agreement, lamenting it provides little new access to the profitable market for meat and dairy.

The agreement, which has been in negotiation since mid-2018, will remove tariffs on a wide range of products and be the first struck by the EU to include potential sanctions for violations of environmental or labour standards.

Tariffs will fall for EU exports such as clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cars, as well as wine and confectionary. The EU will increase by 10,000 tonnes its quota of New Zealand beef, a sensitive area for France in particular, as well as raising volumes for lamb, butter and cheese.

The New Zealand government has said the agreement provides tangible gains into a restrictive agricultural market.

But the New Zealand meat and dairy sectors say this has very little impact on them.

Simon Tucker, a director of trade at dairy giant Fonterra said in a statement that outcomes for dairy were very disappointing and reflect the degree of protectionism afflicting dairy trade globally.

By Lucy Craymer / Reuters

The industry source who shared the figures, but wished to remain anonymous, added the data did not include those members who had left the scheme since it published its updated standards in November 2021.

RT admitted there had been a decline in the number of beef and lamb producer members, but blamed a ‘significant proportion’ of the drop on industry consolidation during the time.

A spokesperson said: “We have seen some smaller beef producers have found alternative markets for their produce, selling to local markets and independent stores that do not require assurance.”

The latest Defra figures, published last June, showed the number of total commercial holdings in England for beef cows in 2017 was 25,759, compared to 23,380 in 2021, while total sheep and lamb holdings stood at 38,914 and 37,286 in 2017 and 2021 respectively.

Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association, said England’s suckler cow herd in England had shrunk by 7 per cent since 2018.

“There is some consolidation in the beef sector, but we have seen a small increase in membership in the last two years due to our increased activity,” he added.

“Historically, when there has been a buoyant market, people will dip out of farm assurance.”

Hannah Binns / Farmers Guardian

Last week’s sheep kill (week ending June 25) witnessed a decrease on the week before, with all categories of sheep seeing a decline in throughput.

Spring lamb throughput once again broke 40,000 head last week, but was still back on the previous week, while hogget supplies fell once again, as did ewe and ram throughput.

Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that 50,887 sheep were processed last week, representing a decrease of 2,350 head from the week before.

The number of hoggets processed continues to get smaller, with 2,694 head slaughtered last week; this is a decrease of 1,076 head from the week prior.

Michael Geary / Agriland