British market

[Freesaw]

How can we sell beef into the british market? I heard they import about 45% of there beef.

[grassfarmer]

Interesting question and I'll try and help answer it. Current British cattle prices would be the equiv. of CDN $1.08 - $1.12 a lb live on fats. I think that they are currently importing less than the 45% you quote but I am not up to date on that figure. Home production is certainly increasing again as rebuilding after BSE and Foot and Mouth continues, despite Government plans to permanently shrink the agricultural sector. A big shadow on the horizon is the re-entry of over thirty month cattle into the food chain. This will bring a big tonnage of extra beef onto the market possibly later this year displacing foreign imports (primarily South American). The beef market in the UK is different to here - Canadian feedlot cattle would be severely penalised by the majority market (packers buying for supermarkets) for being over fat. They want high yields of lean meat despite it having no taste and being tough at times. Most cattle are fed on pasture with grain added although some bulls are fed out entirely on barley and find a market OK. The quality meat in the UK is sold by the few remaining butchers in rural areas with a high local cattle populations. They buy older, fatter cattle but source it locally to reassure customers. Of course hormone treated beef would be out of the question for any British market. I don't know if this is a market worth pursuing although I heard Highland feeders at Vegreville were fattening cattle for Europe last year.