EU: Beef becomes scarce and expensive

 Prices for slaughter cattle in the coming year may remain relatively high. However, manufacturers complain about rising costs. Slaughterers and processors have to adapt to this.

“Beef is a scarce commodity throughout the EU. This will be reflected in next year's earnings and the positive trend will continue,” predicted Dr. Albert Hortmann-Scholten, market expert at the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture. However, chamber chairman Martin Lücking also pointed to restrictions, according to the state farmers' association. “Part of the price increase will remain with us producers, but we will have to pass some of it back on to the processors and trade,” said a fattener from the Nienburg region.

Hortmann-Scholten says the reason for his optimism about the restrictions is the "alarming cost explosion" in raw materials. Record prices must be paid for diesel fuel, fuel oil, fertilizers and, above all, feed. The market has also been affected by a shortage of dwindling staff, largely due to the still visible effects of the CORONAVIRUS pandemic. With only 11.2 million cattle left in Germany, MEAT, which is still in high demand, is becoming increasingly scarce, with prices correlating with those of feed and other raw materials.

“We observe that prices for meat rise after grain,” the expert of the Chamber explained. In this context, cost sentiment is more favorable for beef producers than for pig producers, as 2021 will bring sufficient corn and grass silage crops, as well as hay and straw, he said. Despite a modest increase in production, global beef supplies are also quite scarce compared to the increase in demand, and have therefore also become more expensive, according to Hortmann-Scholten.