Farmers already excited about the positive impact of exports on their businesses will get an up to date analysis of current, and future, developments if they attend the National Beef Association's annual meeting at Hexham in Northumberland on Wednesday May 24th.

photo courtesy of www.jennifermackenzie.co.uk

The main speakers are the Meat and Livestock Commission's export development specialist, Jean-Pierre Garnier, and Portuguese beef importer, Senor Diogo Macedo, and each will be able to refer to actual market responses to export re-opening which began on May 3rd when delivering their assessment of the most likely direction this new trade in beef will take.

The meeting, which is being staged at 1pm at Hexham Auction Mart, will be preceded by a special sale of beef breeding stock which begins at 12 noon at the same venue.

"There has already been a noticeable price response in the cull cow market which is being fuelled by the re-opening of important new outlets in France and the Netherlands," explained NBA chief executive, Robert Forster.

"The demand tug created by the rapidly expanding beef deficit on the EU market is expected to result in the overall UK cow average hitting Republic of Ireland levels later this month which is much earlier than even the most optimistic forecaster had anticipated."

"And it is now expected that the price impact on the prime cattle market will be more or less fully evident by the end of first full week in June so one of the most important profit/loss markers in the industry will not be long in coming."

The NBA is hoping that members from across Northern England and Southern Scotland will attend this important meeting which is the first the Association has staged at its new, national headquarters, on the Hexham market site.

"The encouraging rise in cull cow values is important for all suckled calf breeders because it will reduce the cost of breeding heifer replacements by around £40 a year," said Mr Forster.

"The benefits could be even higher if more breeders cull out cows after their fifth or sixth calf while they still have a high market value and less cows are wasted because they are sold when they are too old or have to be diverted through the Fallen Stock Scheme."

"Jean-Pierre Garnier will be able to provide a realistic update on cow beef export issues across all 25 EU countries and will also comment on developments on the prime beef market too."

"So far the indications have been extremely positive with typical commercial steers selling for 115p liveweight (210p deadweight) across the North of England and values of 125p (225p) recorded in the North of Scotland."

"And Senor Macedo has longstanding experience of buying beef from other EU countries over the period these markets were shut to the British industry so we expect him to be able to give an indication of the wide range of carcase types that will be wanted as well as list the weight, age and leanness of the ideal beef animal for the main markets which will give suckled calf producers more exact targets to aim at."

"In addition to this we anticipate a number of questions from the floor and would be surprised if queries on the development of live sales of weaned calves to Spain and Italy were not among them."

Presentations by these export specialists will be immediately preceded by an AGM at which Mr Burrell will give his first chairman's report. It will be followed immediately by an EGM at which a motion to remove Keith Redpath from the board of directors will be put to the membership.

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