THE National Beef Association appears to have scored a spectacular own goal in its claims that major abattoirs had squeezed the price of prime cattle at point of slaughter to little more than 230p per kilo during August.
The reality is that prices, despite a blip in July, are way above the mark claimed by the NBA. Current bids for quality cattle in Scotland are in the region of 287p per kilo and have never been as low as 230p this year.
Allan Jess, president of th
e Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, reacted in the strongest possible terms. He said: "The NBA is talking utter nonsense and seems to be living on a different planet. It's a very long time since the price of prime cattle was 230p per kilo.
"This statement from the NBA is a blatant attempt to cause trouble and damage relationships between processors and producers which are, on the whole, very good. Comments like this are unfounded and do nothing for the reputation of the NBA.
"The NBA would be better spending time campaigning for measures under the health check of the Common Agricultural Policy to increase production and secure a sustainable beef industry in Scotland."
It would appear that the only point of agreement between SAMW and the NBA is that numbers are short. Kim Haywood, the director of the NBA, said: "The days when abattoirs alone dictated terms and farmers took what they said about supplies and prices as gospel are over.
"Beef cattle are being traded on a seller's market and this happy state of affairs will continue as long as slaughter animals are in short supply. Finishers did an excellent job last month when they either held back stock until they were paid the price they asked for or withdrew their cattle altogether."
But Jess disagrees vehemently. He said: "Cattle supplies in Scotland are becoming tighter by the month. At the same time price pressures at the consumer end of the meat chain are making it increasingly difficult for processors to maintain acceptable business margins.
"The bottom line is that we've had a 7 per cent reduction in calf registrations in Scotland between 2004 and 2007 and a very similar story for Great Britain in total. How we begin to return the industry to a more balanced supply position is less easy to answer. As an association we have made it clear throughout the years that some form of direct support must be given to producers to restore production levels to the sort of numbers we need to maintain a viable Scottish meat industry."
Meanwhile, it has been announced that the lamb processing business operated by GD Vivers in the south-west of Scotland since 1872 has been acquired by JW Galloway who run plants at Queenslie in Glasgow, East Kilbride and at Bridge of Allan under the Scotbeef brand. In the year to February 2008 Scotbeef had a turnover of almost £120 million. No price for the deal has been revealed.
Ian Galloway, the chairman of Scotbeef, said: "We are delighted to be taking ownership of such a quality business. We continually strive to be the industry leader in innovative, quality fresh meat products and this investment will add considerably to our customer offering in today's ever-changing markets across the UK, Europe and beyond."
Jimmy Vivers said: "We have sought a high-quality Scottish-based and owned purchaser with a commitment to the quality Scotch lamb business with a strong heritage and values. We have found this in Galloways."
The full article contains 594 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
