—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Oct. 12. 1974
26
European Beef Surplus Seen Lasting to 1975
The European Community’s recent
ban on imports of beef, veal, and
live cattle highlights the severity and
intractability of the meat glut now grip
ping Western Europe. Rather than a
swiftly passing phenomenon, the over
supply could remain into 1975 and
1976.
In the meantime, the EC import ban
and other restrictive trade measures
taken in Europe will continue to'have a
major impact on world trade, reducing
European imports by more than SO per
cent this year and probably keeping
them at a low level In turn, these ac
tions could further aggravate beef sup
ply difficulties in the United States and
other parts of the world.
The problem is at its worst in the
European Community, which with
three-fourths of Western Europe’s
people and nearly 85 percent of its
beef output is by far the single most
important segment of European agricul
ture and trade today. And in the EC,
solving the problem is complicated by a
market structure in which expanded
production is not readily reflected in
lower consumer prices.
Ironically, beef ovcrsupply came to
the European Community—and the rest
of the world—just as the area was pull
ing out of a period of extremely short
supplies and high prices. That situation
had prompted the EC in 1972 and the
first of 1973 to remove virtually all
barriers against imports of beef and
veal.
Beginning in late 1973, however, the
EC beef market began to weaken. This
led to reimposition of beef import duties
on September 1973, return to variable
levies in November, and a long series
of restrictive import measures in early
Meet Will
Eye Farm
Preservation
Ways to preserve Lan
caster County’s agricultural
heritage will be examined on
Wednesday evening, October
16, at a public meeting in the
Farm and Home Center, 1383
Arcadia Road, Lancaster.
The meeting will start at 8:00
p.m.
Speaker for the evening
will be Cornelius W. Heine
from the U.S. Department of
the Interior. Heine is chief of
the National Park Service
historic and architectural
surveys. There will also be a
panel discussion by John R.
Ahlfeld, Lancaster County
Planning Director, John W.
Aungst, Jr., president of the
Historic Preservation Trust
of Lancaster County, Amos
H. Funk, vice-chairman of
the Lancaster County
Conservation District board
of directors, Henry Hack
man, executive assistant
with the County Con
servation District, and Dr.
Robert Herr, Narvon, bead
of the Garden Spot High
School vo-ag department.
The meeting is being
sponsored by the Conestoga
Valley Association, a local
watershed group.
New Sweetener! From
Fruit
Agricultural scientists
have developed low calorie
natural sweeteners from
oranges, grapefruit, and
lemons that are reported to
as
Eastern Lancaster Co,
Melvin Herr
RR2 New Holland Pa 17557
Ph 717 354 5977
North Wesl
Earl B. Cinder
RD2 Manheim. Pa 17545
Phone 717-665-3126
Southwi
Ben GretnawaH A. L. rrertman
RD2 Conestoia, Pa 17516 413 Lorust St
Ph. 717-572-5686
~—---- • --
OTTO
1974 (see Foreign Agriculture, July 15,
1974). These measures included:
• Imposition of temporary import
embargoes on fresh and chilled beef by
France, Italy, and Belgium-Luxembourg
(from countries outside the EC) be
tween late February and March 31,
1974; on all beef and veal imports
between April 29 and May 7, 1974;
and on imports pf fresh and chilled
beef and veal and live animals from
other European countries between
June 27 and July 12.
• The adoption of export subsidies
for beef (for the first time in EC
history) in December 1973.
• The adoption of the so-called
“jumelage” system on May 8 that made
issuance of import licenses contingent
upon agreement by the importer to buy
an equal amount from intervention
stocks.
These culminated, of course, in the
July 16 ban on all imports of beef,
veal, and live cattle until the end of
October 1974; only products covered
by GATT-bound quotas are excepted.
Despite such measures, EC stocks of
beef have continued to accumulate,
putting a severe strain on the inter
vention system. Stocks are currently
estimated at about 192,000 metric tons,
and the EC Commission forecasts a
rise to 250,000 tons by the end of the
year—a near physical impossibility since
EC storage capacity is already reported
to be virtually exhausted.
The thrust of EC policy in dealing -
with the beef glut has been to restrict
imports —an orientation emphasized by
the current import ban. However, the
EC has also stepped up efforts to dispose
of beef through “welfare” channels and
adopted a system* of subsidies for cattle
HAVE YOU MET AERI-KIHG, INC.?
DON'T FEEL BAD, WE HAVEN'T MET YOU EITHER.
BUT WE CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO!
Bring your wife and be our guest at a family style dinner meeting at Good 'n
Plenty Restaurant, North of the Guernsey Barn along Rt. 896, South of
Smoketown, on Thursday, October 24,1974 at 7 o'clock P.M. No obligation.
- Meet the Agri-King Representative in your area!
- Meet and talk with farmers who are on the Agri-King
Feeding Program!
Let us show you how we con help you
- Increase net profit
- Decrease breeding problems
- Have more lactation? per cow
- Have less herd problems
- Hold milk production longer
- Have stronger calves
Lehigh Co. Area
i. H. Moore
1213 Zorba Drive
Whitehall. Pa 18052
Ph 215 432-5987
MonMomerv ft SE Berks
Cyril C. Arnold
739 Rosewood Drive
Oouglasville Pa 19518
Ph 215 385-6249
lestem Lancaster Co.
Columbia. Pa 17513
Ph 717 684-8768
Chester Co.
Wiliam Windle
RDI
Atglen Pa. 19310
Ph 215 593-6143
Northeast Berks Co.
Roger Heller
RD#l
Robesoma Pa
Ph 215 6936160
Lebanon Co.
Marvin Meyer
RD2 Box 157
Annville. Pa 17003
Ph 717-867-1445
AS .jaAiT2Aiofel XQB3TJM ■
slaughter aimed at delaying slaughterings
(so as to level out supplies). In addition,
the EC recently sold 50,000 tons of
beef to the USSR for about 38 cents
per pound.
A number of countries outside the
Community have experienced similar
difficulties in their beef markets and
have reacted with trade restrictions and
other disposal measures. Norway has
instituted import embargoes on beef.
Greece has imposed them on all meat
and live animals. Austria has sharply
raised export subsidies. And most non-
EC countries have used restrictive
licensing, which permits easy expansion
or contraction of imports in response to
changes in domestic market conditions.
As a result of these restrictive actions
and the changed market situation, net
beef import requirements by Western
Europe will be down sharply this year
from the nearly 800,000 metric tons of
1973 (gross imports last years were 1.4
million tons). The extent of the drop
is difficult to predict. However, a
conservative assumption of a 10-percent
production increase, combined with the
same level of consumption as in 1973,
would imply a 650,000-ton decline in
1974 net import requirements.
The most important suppliers of the
West European market are the South
American countries (mainly Argen
tina), followed by Eastern Europe and
Oceania. Pressure on the U.S. market
will intensify as these exporters seek to
divert beef supplies, especially since
Japan has also stopped issuing import
licenses for beef. The United States is
thus the only major market still open
for beef imports. Argentine exports of
cooked beef 1 to the United States have
already shown a sharp increase—up 54
A KEY TO PROFIT
AGRI KING,
/ PERSONALIZED FEEDING PROGRAMS
r RESERVATION
I IDeadine Monday, Oct. 21.)
| Mail to; George F. Delong regional manager
I P.O. Box 683 Lititz, Pa. 17543
I Free To All Dairymen & Guest
! Please Reserve
■ if 12d Dinners For Me.
■
I City State
I Zip Phone.
j- iV *J»9«-i « « » » « . WfclfiS v w ,
ILTON, ILL.
Name
RD or St.
percent in the first 6 months of 1974.
The surge in 1974 beef production in
Western Europe results from the Urge
herd buildup that has taken place over
the past 2 years. Cattle numbers at the
end of 1973 were over 7 million head
or 8 percent higher than 2 years earlier.
Most of this expansion took place in
the European Community. The Nether
lands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom
—showed the largest herd increase over
this period—up 22, 16. and 14 percent,
respectively. Only Italy showed a de
cline in cattle numbers.
Several factors motivated the herd
expansion.
In the first place, there was an initial
need to rebuild herds after successive
reductions in cattle numbers in 1969,
1970, and 1971. These reductions oc
curred in response to deteriorating
profitability in dairy output, as well as
government actions to reduce dairy
cow herds. (For example, the EC paid
premiums for the slaughter of about
235,000 cows in 1970.) Subsequent
increases in sppport and market prices
for daily products caused a reversal
of this trend.
Further incentive for herd expansion
was provided by the large jump in beef
prices in 1972'and early 1973 and by
widespread expectation of a chronic
world beef shortage. In addition, herd
building in the United Kingdom, Den
mark, and particularly Ireland was en
couraged by the prospect of entry into
the Community, with its promise of
higher livestock prices and lucrative
market outlets unfettered by .import
restrictions. , .
Finally, it appears that even the
drop in prices in the latter half of 1973
(Continued on Fage-27|