"No-deal Brexit far worst than COVID-19," cries Polish beef industry
A no-deal Brexit will have a sudden impact on Irish and Polish beef sectors and it could be far worst than the coronavirus crisis, considers Jerzy Wierzbicki, president of the Polish Association of Beef Cattle Producers (PZPBM). In an intervention made at the last meeting of the EU Meat Market Observation Center, Mr. Wierzbicki declared: "It would be a bigger challenge for Polish beef producers than the outbreak of coronavirus. If Great Britain would suddenly become a third country, it would be necessary to double, almost overnight, the export of beef to third countries. And there we compete with Brazil and other South American countries, and this will immediately put pressure on prices. In Europe, price drops would first be felt by the Irish and then we, the two largest exporters - and then the rest."
For now, the beef market in the EU seems to return to normal. Prices have been rising in recent weeks. This is, among others, the effect of the re-opening of the HoReCa market. Admittedly, after closing the restaurant, Europeans began to consume beef more often at home, but it never compensated for the losses caused by lock-down. Experts in several European countries have even noted an increase in production. However, beef prices in Poland have been depressed for almost a year due to the scandal related to the illegal cattle slaughterhouse in Kalinow. At that time, the average price for Polish beef has dropped 10% and remained like that until the first quarter of 2020 when another drop in prices occurred due to the COVID-19 crisis.
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