Archive Article: 2000/12/22
AROUND THE SALES
• BEEF consumption in Europe has suffered a knee-jerk reaction to the BSE crisis in France. An MLC report indicates that beef eating in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Belgium has dropped between 20-40% over the past three weeks. In Ireland the collapse of export markets on the Continent has led abattoirs to adopt a one or two day week. According to the MLC Irish slaughterings at the beginning of December were 36% lower than two weeks before.
• THE Livestock Auctioneers Association of England and Wales has appointed a new executive secretary, David Brown. Peter Kingwill will become the LAAs new chairman. Both are directors of Alder King Rural Surveyors, which has markets at Chippenham and Avon in Glos. They will begin their new posts in February next year.
• WORLDWIDE beef consumption is up considerably, but the EU no longer is the main supplier, says Meats Trade Journal. According to the annual report 2000 of the Agricultural Committee of the World Trade Organisation, the EUs share of beef markets has halved in the past 10 years from 25% of the global market 15 years ago to just 12.8% in 1998. The US has shown the biggest rise in exports, doubling levels in this time to 16.8%. Principally this is due to rising beef burger consumption using American beef, despite concerns over growth promoter use.