Look Out For Outlook 2006
14/12/05

The meat and livestock industry is facing more challenges, both on the domestic market and abroad.

Just what those challenges are and what plans can be made to tackle them is the aim of the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) Outlook Conference.

This year's event, titled WTO - Who Wins? - is being held on Tuesday, January 31, 2006, at One Gt George St, Westminster. The morning focuses on the WTO trade talks and the implications for the red meat industry.

The speakers here include Robert Norris, EU Head of Unit responsible for WTO, OECD and North America and Andy Lebrecht, director general, sustainable farming, food and fisheries, Defra.

There will be two parallel afternoon sessions, the first chaired by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) taking a look at the forecast for the sheep and beef sectors.

Here the speakers will include MLC Export Manager Jean Pierre Garnier along with MLC beef and sheep economic managers Duncan Sinclair and Mark Topliff.

The second session, chaired by the British Pig Executive (BPEX), will focus on the pig meat sector with contributions from Anne Birgitte Lundholt,who chairs the Pigmeat Committee on the International Meat Secretariat, Julian Bell, senior economist with the HGCA and BPEX

Chief Executive Mick Sloyan MLC Head of Policy Stephen Rossides said: "The expectation of further trade liberalisation, on top of CAP reform, poses yet more challenges for the industry. It is important to explore and evaluate these challenges and possible responses.

"The conference aims to set out the current situation and the outlook for the industry, identify key issues and explore a range of possible outcomes and their impact.

"It is an important date in the diary for anybody in the industry who wants to keep one step ahead as 2006 unfolds."

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