Alternative Methods – RAPID´Chromogenic Media
Bio-Rad
The English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) said today that the average price of English beef increase by 14.9 per cent last year compared with 2003 figures, while British beef rose by 9.8 per cent and imported beef by 2 per cent.
The average retail price of lamb sold as English rose by 10.3 per cent, compared to 1.1 per cent for British lamb and less than 1 per cent for New Zealand lamb - although there were "considerable annual swings".
According to EBLEX chairman John Cross, these figures (from TNS) underscore how meat producers can draw attention to provenance and quality to differentiate their products from "price driven commodity markets".
"All our research shows that consumers do differentiate on provenance and eating quality and these figures show they are willing to back that up at the till."
Cross said that the supply chain should recognise the impact of allowing consumers to make an informed choice.
The UK market has seen considerable interest in locally sourced food in recent years, driven largely by attention to the environment and the contribution of airfreighting to carbon dioxiode emissions.
In October 2007 organic certifier The Soil Association proposed that organic produce that is flown into the UK may not be certified as organic until it meets standards on ethical and fair trade.
This month, however, the association turned its attention to the price of organic British beef, saying that low prices paid to producers are hampering local food production growth and encouraging sourcing from elsewhere.
It reported that the average price for organic beef in 2006 was in the region of £2.90 per kilo while the average cost of production was more than £3.30 per kilo.
This means that while demand for organic meat is growing rapidly, costs in Britain are too high to encourage farmers to meet the demand.
The Soil Association argues that beef farmers could supply all of the population's demands for organic beef if the economic incentives were in place.
"When low farmgate prices are considered, alongside the implications of increasing feed costs and anticipated cuts in the Single Payment Scheme, it is not surprising that farmers lack the confidence needed to boost organic beef production to the levels that would support 100 per cent UK sourcing and cover anticipated growth in the market," it said in a statement.
