Ireland-Concerns over Brazilian beef.
IRELAND-WISHFUL THINKING OVER BRAZILIAN BEEF.
Brazilian beef exports fell last year for the first time in a decade and a further reduction is forecast for 2009, Bord Bia has predicted.
According to a report released by the food marketing body, the volume of beef exported by Brazil will fall to 2.08m tonnes this year, back from a peak of 2.49m tonnes in 2007.
The news will be welcomed by embattled beef farmers as margins in the sector have collapsed this year, with some finishers claiming that they have lost up to €140/hd on stock carried through the winter.
The fall-off in Brazilian exports is attributed to changes in both production and consumption within the state.
It is estimated that production peaked at around 9.6m tonnes in 2006; however, domestic consumption rose to 6.25m tonnes in 2008. This is up from 4.8m tonnes a decade ago and now accounts for 80pc of production.
The Brazilian beef herd has also reduced in size. Numbers reached a high of 180m head in 2007 but the herd is not expected to hit that level again until mid 2010 at the earliest.
The reduced availability of trade finance, together with slowing demand for meat globally, has also hit the sector. Independencia, Brazil’s fifth largest processor, filed for bankruptcy recently.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the CSO show a massive drop in the Irish cattle kill in January.
The total number of cattle slaughtered during January was down 17.6pc on 2008. Just 113,100 head were killed during the month, down from 137,200 in 2008 and 153,500 in 2007.
The total volume of beef produced in January fell to 36.3m tonnes. This is down from 45.3m tonnes in 2008 and 50.1m tonnes in 2007. Overall, beef production for January was back almost 14m tonnes compared to 2007 -- a 28pc reduction.
The sheep kill for January was up 1pc compared to 2008, with 214,500 head killed in total. However, the impact of the December feed scare continues to be felt in the pig sector. The total kill was back 8.5pc on last year, with 213,500 head killed.
