NBA chief hits out over mince sales

THE National Beef Association has raised concerns over the high level of beef being sold as mince, saying it brings down the overall price for cattle.

A consumer survey has found that mince, the cheapest product retailed at only about 4 a kilogram, now accounts for 50 per cent of fresh beef sales. The top-priced steak and roasting joint cuts can cost the consumer 17-19 a kg but only make up 36 per cent of the retail beef on offer.

NBA director Kim Haywood said: "This is not good news for farmers, or anyone else in the beef industry because … the sector has no chance of prospering if sales focus even more heavily on its cheapest product."

She called for more "retail imagination" if the industry is to overcome the dire income shortage that threatens to suffocate large sections of its supply system.

She continued: "Finishers are struggling to cover feed costs, breeders are still not able to earn enough from the market to make them feel confident about continuing to keep expensive suckler cows, and processor margins are strained because the beef they pack is not able to generate more income at retail level.

"The evolution of mince as a first-choice purchase for people unsure of purchasing other more expensive beef cuts is not a success story.

Mainstream multiple retailers must consider how they can market beef more creatively, other than the current routine of offering mince, stewing beef, steak cuts and roasting joints.

"However, introducing a much-needed burst of imagination into the product range of beef is not the province of the farmers but of multiple retailers and their suppliers," she added. "They must realise that if they allow mince sales to march ever onwards without enticing some consumers with better-value alternatives, the beef industry will never prosper."