UK lamb prices are holding up, despite major protests by farmers in France who have been blocking roads, which has disrupted British lamb exports heading to the Continent.

The GB deadweight lamb SQQ increased by 23.6p/kg on the week to 631.8p/kg, with lower throughputs at abattoirs.

Prices at auction markets were also up, with the liveweight SQQ at 296.2p/kg for the week to 27 January.

Auctioneers say while finished prices have been strong in the past week, supply could catch up with demand if retail markets remain quiet and export markets stay disrupted.

Rizvan Khalid, managing director at Shropshire-based exporter Euro Quality Lambs, told Farmers Weekly the French protests had already had an effect on logistics, with at least one lorry missing its delivery.

As a result of the protests, there are currently fewer buyers at Rungis International Market in Paris, which is affecting sales, according to Mr Khalid.

 

Charlie Reeve | Farmers Weekly

 

Michael Race | BBC News

THE chairman of the Smithfield Market Tenants’ Association used a formal breakfast this week to complain about delays to the opening of the Museum of London on the Smithfield site.

Speaking on Wednesday in the presence of Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons at Butcher’s Hall in Bartholo­mew Close, Clerkenwell, Greg Lawrence warned that “the market must continue to flourish until we can move, or there will be nothing to move,” as he criticised delays to the museum project.

The poultry market closed last month, marking the beginning of the end of meat being sold at the historic Clerkenwell site, with just two buildings remaining.

“We hope to see [the Museum of London] open in just two years’ time,” said Mr Lawrence. “All the delays caused by the City, must be owned and resolved and let us learn that lesson at last: the most expensive decisions are the decisions deferred.”

After listening to Mr Lawrence’s concerns Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons, whose year-long tenure ends next month, joked: “Chairman, I think we really ought to get off the fence from time to time.”

He praised the traders, after a tour of the market.

A statement released by the museum said: “Negotiations between the City of London Corporation and Smithfield Market Tenants’ Association to gain vacant possession of the Poultry Market building concluded later than expected and a consequence of this is that we will now phase the project opening.”

 

By Charlotte Chambers | Islington Tribune 

Throughput: Up until the week ending October 15th  2023, cattle throughput in DAFM approved plants totalled 1,381,842 head, a 3% decrease from the corresponding period last year. Prime cattle have been presented for slaughter a few weeks later that normal this autumn due to poorer performance at grass however throughout is expected to increase as we move into the final quarter of the year.

Cow availability has declined in recent weeks however with many producers starting to house cattle across the country the numbers being processed is expected to pick and operate to similar levels as 2022 in the run up to Christmas. Year-to-date cow-slaughtering’s are running 4,358 head behind of record 2022 levels.

Prices for cows have also eased in recent weeks, reflecting a weaker trade in Europe for manufacturing beef. For the week ending October 15th  2023, a total of 39,344 head of cattle were processed, which represented a decrease of 4% or 1,099 head on the equivalent week last year.

Prices: Tighter cattle supplies and lighter carcase weights have reduced the availability of beef for export in recent months however this lower level of supply has been met with lower consumption volumes across our key European markets. This has left the supply of cattle and the demand for beef finely balanced with quotes holding relatively steady as a result.

Base quotes for steers this week have mostly ranged from €4.60 and €4.65/kg, while quotes for heifers have largely worked off a base of €4.65/kg. Regarding cull cow prices, well-fleshed O-grades are typically selling for between €4.00 and €4.10/kg with  finished P-grade cows making between €3.80 and €3.90/kg.  Prices paid for better R-grade cull cows have been between €4.20 and €4.40/kg. For the week ending October 15th  2023, the average price paid by Irish beef processors for R3 steers decreased by 3c/kg to be €4.59/kg. This was the same as the corresponding week in 2022.

The average Irish R3 heifer price also decreased by 3c/kg to €4.63/kg for the same week. Note that reported prices exclude VAT but include all bonus payments such as in-spec bonus, breed-based producer groups etc.

EU and UK prices: European young bull prices have largely recorded increases over the latest few weeks with the EU average price for R3 grading young bulls increased by 3c/kg last week at €4.88/kg (excluding VAT). On average, UK R3 steer prices slipped marginally to €5.41 kg (equivalent to £4.70/kg) for the week ending October 15th 2023.

 

Bord Bia

 

A Small Abattoir fund will open by the end of this year, providing £4m of funding in England to help improve productivity, enhance animal health and welfare and encourage investment in new technologies in vital local plants.

Small abattoirs have come under increased pressure in recent, highlighted by a 20% reduction in the number of low-capacity abattoirs in the last decade, often making it harder for livestock farmers to find viable outlets.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer announced Defra would introduce a scheme to support these businesses, and more details were announced during last week’s Back British Farming Day as part of a wider announcement.

The £4m fund will will be open to red meat and poultry businesses with an annual throughput of up to 10,000 livestock units including beef, pork and lamb, and/or 500,000 birds per year.

Defra said the funding would make it easier for them to operate and support farmers in reaching local and international markets.

Announcing the scheme in February, Mr Spencer said abattoirs are key to the food supply chain and there is clearly a need to support smaller providers in this area. “A network of smaller abattoirs distributed around the country is crucial to supporting the rural economy, enabling farmers to sell their own meat in farm shops and maintaining good animal health and welfare through reduced journey times to slaughter,” he said.

 

Alistair Driver | Pig World

The UK has lifted reinforced inspections on meat products from Brazil after analyzing the country’s control system.

The decision covers consignments of beef, poultry, and meat products and preparations exported from Brazil to England, Scotland, and Wales. It comes after an audit of Brazil’s sanitary and phytosanitary controls.

Following allegations of fraud in Brazil in 2017 during Operation Carne Fraca, measures were implemented for enhanced checks on certain imported animal products.

For beef and poultry meat products from Brazil, exports to Great Britain no longer need enhanced pre- and post-import testing for Salmonella or the added attestation attached to health certificates confirming Salmonella sampling, methods of analysis used, and results.

Post-import physical checks for poultry and beef products will be reduced from 100 percent physical and 20 percent microbiological sampling. Brazil can now re-list certain poultry and beef sites for export to Great Britain.

Auditors visited central and regional authorities, two certification centers, eight slaughterhouses, four other businesses, two farms, and four laboratories. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA) leads official controls and certification of exports of animals and animal products. The Department of Inspection of Animal Products (DIPOA) is responsible for managing the Brazilian Federal Inspection Service (SIF).

Brazilian authorities have made “significant” progress in correcting the systemic failings in the framework of controls and their application that led to enhanced Salmonella controls. According to Defra, changes to legislation and a restructuring of the authorities have strengthened the regulatory oversight of exports and clarified accountabilities.

By Joe Whitworth | Food Safety News

British authorities have decided to lift the reinforced controls on Brazilian meat, Brasilia’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture announced Monday, according to Agencia Brasil.

The measure was adopted nine months after a technical team visited the South American country.

Now Brazilian health authorities will be able to enable companies authorised to sell meat to the United Kingdom, a system called “pre-listing,” it was explained.

The United Kingdom will also start treating cases of avian influenza at the state level. Thus, any outbreaks of the disease in Brazil will only lead to the closure of the market for poultry meat from states with registered occurrences. Until now, the British government suspended purchases from the entire country in such cases.

In a joint statement, the two ministries said that the British government’s health audit mission found that Brazil had resolved issues related to sanitary and phytosanitary regulation that had led to the adoption of enhanced controls on Brazilian meat.

“The decision of the British authorities confirms the excellence of Brazilian official health controls, which guarantee the quality and safety of products consumed in Brazil and in importing countries,” the two ministries said.

 

 

Merco Press

The NPA has set out the case for how small and medium-sized abattoirs should be supported under Defra’s new funding scheme. 

Farming Minister Mark Spencer announced in February that Defra would be developing a Smaller Abattoir Fund. Small abattoirs have been in decline for many years, and, in the past few days, news has emerged of a local Cumbrian plant that has been forced to close. The loss of these local abattoirs is making it increasingly hard for farmers to find outlets for their stock.

Mr Spencer said: “If farming is to flourish then we need to get the fundamentals right – abattoirs are key to the food supply chain and there is clearly a need to support smaller providers in this area.”

Defra has been seeking the views of industry bodies on how the fund should look and, in its response, put together with guidance from the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS), the NPA stresses that small- to medium-sized abattoirs are vital to the pig industry in providing alternative markets to the larger processors.

They also provide additional capacity in the event of breakdowns and general delays in slaughter capacity at times of acute pressure, as experienced during the pig backlog.

“Therefore, support for this specific sector of the industry is essential to protect animal health and welfare, and never more so as the slaughtering and processing sector continues to consolidate resulting in pigs being transported ever greater distances for slaughter,” the response states.

 

by Alistair Driver | Pig World

THE news that Black Brow abattoir near Wigton is closing has shocked producers and butchers.

 

 

By Maureen Hodges | News & Star

Ongoing asymmetry in UK-EU trade threatens to push up food prices in the UK, BPC chief executive, Richard Griffiths, told attendees at new conference Trade Unlocked.

Trade Unlocked – supported by UK Trade and Business Commission and Best for Britain – brought together parliamentarians, businesses leaders and trade experts to discuss trade and ways to boost growth to deliver a better future for all people in the UK.

In a panel session on Standards and Regulation, Griffiths said: “We need equality in trade. If we are to move forward as a sovereign nation, we need Government to get serious about developing a set of standards they believe in and keep at the heart of trade. Only then will we have an opportunity to build positive relationships with trading partners.”

For poultry meat exporters it is certainty and consistency that are key to a profitable and sustainable food system. On the repeated failure to implement full controls on product entering UK from EU, Griffiths, said: “Import checks have been postponed four times in two years, costing BPC members millions. The current system, that some industries are yet to feel the full weight of, is adding to already soaring production costs and eroding business viability. The longer disparity in UK-EU trade goes on, the harder it will get to address it.”

Poultry is half the meat the nation eats but additional administration and red tape has cost exporters well over £100 million since 1 January 2021. EU exporters have paid £0 and continue to enjoy a competitive advantage. The lack of a level playing field, combined with a Government that “is not defending our food standards,” is penalising poultry meat businesses and adding to inflating production costs, “threatening to undercut domestic production with cheaper imports and push up food prices in the UK amid a cost-of-living crisis,” Griffiths told attendees.

 

 

by Chloe Ryan | Poultry News