Brussels, 03/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission said at a conference on the outlook for agriculture in the EU on Wednesday 2 December that the production of poultry and pigmeat was expected to increase in Europe between 2015 and 2025, while beef and veal production was forecast to by almost 4% over the same period.
Globally, an annual rise of 1.4% in meat consumption is forecast and a 2.6% increase in imports, providing markets for exporting countries, said Benjamin Van Doorslaer of the Commission's DG Agriculture. Demand will increase particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Middle East, and not only in Asia.
Meat consumption in the EU is expected to fall somewhat after 2016 or 2017, Van Doorslaer said. A fall of 1 kilogramme per person is expected over the period from 2015 to 2025, though with differences depending on products. Poultry consumption is expected to increase but the forecast is for falls in pigmeat, beef and veal consumption. Sheep- and goatmeat consumption is forecast to remain stable.
In 2014-2015, the global market saw high prices for beef, prices in Europe, however, did not reflect the increase in world prices. Over the period from 2015 to 2025, beef, poultry and mutton prices are predicted to fall (dipping between 2015 and 2020 then recovering slightly between 2020 and 2025). The Commission forecasts an increase in European production of pigmeat (up 1.7%) and poultry (up 3.8%) between 2015 and 2025. Total veal and beef production will fall by 3.9% in the EU. The mutton market situation will become more stable.
Van Doorslaer said that the beef and mutton sectors would cut their greenhouse gas emissions while, in the pigmeat and poultry sectors, there would be an increase. By 2025, two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in the EU will be caused by the livestock sector (50% from the animals).
In conclusion, the Commission said that European meat production would increase slightly (by 1 million tonnes between now and 2025. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)