United Kingdom-Beef production down.

UNITED KINGDOM-BEEF PRODUCTION.

British beef production has fallen by almost 4pc in the first three months of 2009, figures released by Bord Bia show.

The sharpest fall in production was in the steer category, with production down by more than 6pc to 84,700t. Production has also been hit by lower carcass weights.

However, the analysis pointed out that the falling steer kill had been offset by a 5pc recovery in heifer slaughterings.

In France, young bull beef production was back almost 17pc in the first two months of 2009, Italian production was similar to last year, at 105,000t, while young bull production in Spain fell by 17pc to 24,500t.

Meanwhile, beef production in the EU fell by almost 2pc to 8.08 million tonnes in 2008, although supplies of cattle remained broadly similar at 28.9 million head.

Bord Bia figures show that prime cattle supplies in 2008 were up marginally to 15.3 million head, but production fell by 2pc to 4.9 million tonnes.

Although EU cow supplies increased by nearly 4pc, production increased by just 2pc to 2.3 million tonnes. This trend was driven primarily by Britain, where output increased by 23pc.

- Declan O’Brien