agreste

Agreste cahiers n° 40 - juin 1999

In 1996, while the BSE crisis triggered a fast drop in beef household consumptions, the industrial activity of carving and processing, far from coming to a stop, increased its sales of beef and veal by 4 % in volume.

In 1996, while the BSE crisis triggered a fast drop in beef household consumptions, the industrial activity of carving and processing, far from coming to a stop, increased its sales of beef and veal by 4 % in volume. This progression followed the progression of cattle slaughters. Linked to the natural cycle of production, and independent from consumption in the short term, they increased by nearly 3 % that year. The renewed activity strongly benefited to industries of first stage of processing, subsequent to slaughter. Conversely, at the stage cutting, the quantities sold decreased. All through the processing industry, the industrial sale prices strongly decreased in spite of stocking operations : - 8 % for beef meat in carcass, - 6 % for cuts. The price fall brought about the fall of sales in volume. Industries less specialised in beef meat partly compensated these difficulties by processing more of pork and sheep meat, which benefited from this consumption transfer. Their situation straightened up in 1997. This compensation could not take place inside companies most specialised in the production of either beef meat, or offal. Yearly sales of offal in value dropped by 28 % in 1996. Facing the decrease in domestic demand, the dynamism of exports however ensures the upholding, and later the progression in 1997 of the total volume of offal prepared by the branch.