France considers new beef strategy
The strategy includes expanding to all national and international markets by adapting the offer and adding value to products; controlling production costs by improving productivity and revenue for farmers; improving the economic performance of slaughtering and processing plants; and keeping the production potential up.
FranceAgriMer explained that the people who contributed to the plan did not take into account the future evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), “the consequences of which will require a new strategy in due time”.
With the opening of opportunities in the export market, the organisation recommends developing the finishing of young animals to strengthen France’s position on a global scale and conquer new markets. It added that the agriculture ministry planned to dedicate €43m in its annual budget to the funding of strategic plans for the whole of the livestock sector (including meat and milk).
In order to improve abattoirs’ performances, FranceAgriMer suggested the creation of a financial aid system to encourage restructuring and machine modernisation.
“The current situation in French abattoirs is characterised by an underused slaughtering capacity and a strong imbalance between production capacity and slaughtering capacity. Our abattoir plan aims to encourage the creation of a structured network, adapted to production and consumption needs,” said the organisation.
FranceAgriMer is a government-funded body created to improve communication between producers and the agriculture minister, and manage national aid programmes in the sector.
