BSE crisis deals beef a body blow
BSE crisis deals beef a body blow
EU beef markets are being hit far harder than anticipated by the BSE crisis, the commission confirmed this week, with Brussels winding up its estimates of the likely stock overhang.
"The crisis goes further than one might think," farm commissioner, Franz Fischler, told this weeks agriculture council. "Many countries have banned EU beef, a considerable backlog of production is carried over into 2001 and, up to now, we have seen a drop in consumption of 27%."
Initial commission estimates, based on a 10% fall in demand with no loss of exports, had suggested a beef surplus this year of 625,000t. But two sets of figures presented to ministers painted a very different picture.
Maintaining the consumption fall at 10% for the whole of 2001, but building in a 40% loss of exports, pushed that surplus up to 1.3m tonnes, and that would increase again to 1.7m tonnes in 2003.
And, in a "worst case scenario", with consumption dropping 12% for 2001 and exports down 40%, the surplus would reach 1.5m tonnes this year, rising to a massive 2.3m tonnes in 2003.
"Buying into public intervention only is no solution," said Mr Fischler. "If we do this, farm expenditures will simply explode."
As such, he urged all member states to implement the EUs "purchase for destruction" scheme, (taking untested over-30-month beef out of production), as soon as possible. This would remove some 500,000t from the market and would be cheaper in the long run than intervention.
So far, only France and Ireland have made any significant progress with PFD, accounting for 80% of the 57,000 animals destroyed since the start of January. "They cant bear the burden alone," he said.
Meanwhile, the commission has taken another 18,684t of beef into intervention – the biggest consignment so far – accepting tenders in full below k227/100kg (145p/kg). *