10-year vision for beef industry aims to increase production
© Tim Scrivener A 10-year vision for the sector has been unveiled by the NFU ahead of Great British Beef Week from 23 to 30 April.
It outlines plans to stop the decline in cattle numbers and increase UK beef production by 5% by 2035.
The report aims to ensure the sector can continue to produce consistent supplies of high quality and high welfare beef through a strong supply chain.
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NFU Livestock Board chairman David Barton said: “As a sector that’s worth £3.9bn to the British economy, it is one that’s ripe for growth.
“But confidence is at an all-time low due to acute challenges facing the wider industry, such as uncertainty about the future of environmental schemes, the acceleration of direct payments and changes to inheritance tax.
“And more recently concerns about government concessions in a potential trade deal with the US.
“With investment from the government and the entire supply chain, we can build a resilient, sustainable and thriving beef sector, one that can meet growing global demand, while aligning with climate and environment ambitions.
He added that livestock markets also played an important part of keeping the pricing structure correct and wanted to see that continue.
“Most beef is probably going direct, but there is still a market for live and right now that is really buoyant, in fact the live market is probably keeping the trend on the upward curve.”
The report shows that beef exports were worth £567m to the sector last year, with 78% of exports going to the EU.
NFU livestock policy adviser Phoebe Traquair added that government money remains very tight, so a lot of the NFU’s proposals are around making things that already exist really efficient, such as the beef carcass classification system and labelling.