Brexit has hit UK beef production and is putting pressure on “beleaguered” farmers in the South West , according to an expert in the region.
The drop in demand for British beef follows the uncertainty surrounding the UK's withdrawal from the European Union at the beginning of the year, which led to farmers slaughtering more cattle than usual.
The increase in slaughtering in the first quarter of 2019 has caused problems, explains Alex Demetriou, managing director of West-based purchasing group Regency, which supplies the UK catering industry.
He said: “There was an increase in slaughtering in the first quarter because of all the uncertainty around Brexit and the potential impact on the beef markets if we had left the EU at the end of March, as intended.
“The result is that there was plenty of beef in the first quarter, but we are now well into Q2 and production is low because farmers took smaller cattle to slaughter.
"Normally they would have waited and we would have had a more even distribution of beef in the market over Q1 and Q2.”
As a result, beef production is expected to fall by 3.5 per cent in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year.
However, the price of beef is not expected to rise for consumers.
"Where usually we would be expecting to see some increases in pricing, we are now expecting stability,” added Demetriou.
“Turkey has stopped taking Polish beef, and it is therefore expected that this product will be pushed back into the EU and UK, which will also help keep pricing stable,” he added.
The rise of veganism
South West farmers are also coming under pressure as demand for vegetarian and vegan menus grows.
The rising popularity of plant-based eating is also having an impact on beef farmers' incomes.
Demetriou said: “It appears as if this has been driven by the vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian movement, which is becoming increasingly popular as a lifestyle choice rather than any kind of trend."
Unlike beef, however, the price of vegetables and fruit, he warns, could rise.
“There are not enough seasonal workers to harvest the produce, which may be left to rot in the nation’s fields," he explained.
Farmers are now calling on the government to increase its Seasonal Workers Scheme to allow 10,000 temporary migrant workers into the UK rather than 2,500.
