Maternal transmission

[grassfarmer]

A report out of the UK shows that at least part of the scientific establishment there is still worried about maternal transmission of BSE. This is a result of 54 cases of BSE having occured in cattle born since the 1996 feed ban. Upside is UK consumers are no longer worried by BSE scares and consumption is at pre scare levels.
Downside is they no longer have an export market and are now only 65% self sufficient in beef.

[ALICIA]

Are they importing the other 35%
If not would being 35% below not drive the price for a steak up.
Supply and Demand less food means more money for the producer.
I get the same price for a cow as my grandfather did, but I can't by a tractor, its mark up is at least 1000%

[jmillang]

Alicia you are correct if the marketplace is a closed environment, but there are lots of substitutes for beef and protein, while consumption may be up in the UK price may be down. Consumers will buy a particular quantity of beef at a particular price, and what has happened we have shifted that demand curve to a new curve not moved along it. One thing that has also happened is that they have moved from processed meats to more "muscle cuts".

[grassfarmer]

Unfortunately the UK meat industry is run by some shady packers who have used the period following the BSE ban on exports to gain a strangle hold on the industry. They ran a cartel which was able to break the longstanding live auction system of selling fat cattle. The live auctions now only sell a fraction of the cattle they used to - and they are the poorest cattle on the market, the odds and ends, which the packers then use to fix the price for better cattle which they buy deadweight.
It has worked well to fix the beef price at a low level and packers are then able to fill up on cheap imports from anywhere in the world regarless of disease, welfare or any other standards.