Source:  John Strak, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 1/18/11

The European farmers federation (Copa-Cogeca) has warned that the EU’s report on medium-term prospects shows a sharp decline in EU market shares in the meat sector, partly as a result of costly EU regulations.

“The Commission’s latest forecast for agricultural markets reveals that the EU will lose market shares and competitiveness by 2020, due to a strengthening of the euro and costly EU regulations. Meat exports will decline even further, by almost 23 percent by 2020. Whilst imports, which do not have to meet the same high standards as those in the EU, are predicted to increase by as much as 14 percent,” said Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen.

Pesonen went on to predict that meat imports will rise from the Latin American Trade bloc Mercosur which uses growth promoters that are banned in the EU, and has poor animal traceability.

“The EU’s farmers will continue to be squeezed by high production costs and low profits. This is totally unacceptable,” continued Pesonen. “The EU agriculture sector plays a vital role in providing jobs in rural areas, with an estimated one in six jobs dependent upon agricultural production in the EU. But production is falling sharply in many sectors, especially the meat sector, and employment has declined by as much as 25 percent between 2000 and 2009."

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