NSA attends Anglo/French Sheep Club
5th September 2014
By Phil Stocker, NSA Chief Executive
The 2014 annual French/Anglo Sheep Club meeting took place on Thursday and Friday of this week at the impressive French national rugby centre ‘Marcoussis’, south of Paris. The French red meat industry has a supportive relationship with the national rugby team there – something that has to stand it in good stead in terms of attractiveness of meat to a young and active population.
The Sheep Club involves the levy bodies of Interbev and Eblex, and also sheep related organisations of both nations, NSA included. It is all about communication and relationship building that is crucial for good trading relations and knowledge sharing.
While the UK produces as much sheep meat as we consume (although we both export and import), France produces some 80,000 tonnes and consumes 179,000 tonnes, which is why our trading relationship is so important. With 5.5 million ewes in France, 80% of which are in LFA-type areas, and producers in receipt of headage payments, the French are concerned about productivity and the need to maintain an effective production capacity.
Lamb consumption in France is around 2.7kg per capita and this has declined by 3% over the last year. The issues underlying this are similar to the UK – an ageing consumer population, competition with other lower priced meats and the suitability of lamb cuts to modern cuisine.
However we heard about the ‘Agneau Presto’ initiative, a partnership programme involving France, the UK and Ireland, that is making lamb attractive, more versatile and affordable. Agneau Presto includes smaller portions, cuts that can be grilled in less than 10 minutes, very little plate waste and a sourcing policy from the three mentioned countries. This discussion led on to a wider debate about a potential EU-funded lamb promotion campaign that, if things go according to plan, will result in focussed but nationally relevant generic lamb promotion campaigns.
Aside from the more serious agenda items (including EID and movements reporting) it was a pleasure to discuss the International Young Shepherd Competition, hosted by France this year, which is taking place between 27th September and 4th October this year – NSA will keep you informed of further details.
