In 2003, a total of 565 young butchers passed their master's examination. As a result of the drop in the number of journeyman butchers and the political wrangling over the retention of the compulsory master craftsmanship in the butcher trade, this number has also fallen slightly: in the previous year there were still 608 successfully completed master craftsman examinations.

Among the new master butchers of the last year were 56 young women, who received their master craftsman's certificate after successfully completing the exams. For the first time, every tenth new championship title in the butcher's trade went to a woman. From 1975 to 1990 in the former federal territory and from 1990 in unified Germany, 1.002 women have acquired the master craftsman's title in the butcher's trade.

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As of July 1, 2004, after being elected by the board of directors of the Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Food, Dir. and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Branscheid from the hands of Director and Prof. Dr. Karl Otto Honikel the office of the site coordinator of the BFEL, Kulmbach site.

dr After five years as head of the Federal Institute for Meat Research (BAFF) and as site coordinator, Honikel asked for relief from these managerial duties. As head of the Kulmbach Institute for Chemistry and Physics, he will now be able to devote himself fully to his scientific work again. dr Branscheid is head of the Institute for Meat Production and Marketing and has also been in charge of the BAFF for two terms.

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The Federal Research Center for Viral Diseases in Animals in Riems has confirmed another case of BSE in Bavaria. It is a female Fleckvieh cattle from Upper Bavaria, born on April 30.04.1997th, XNUMX. The animal was examined during slaughter. In the final clarification by the Federal Research Center for Viral Diseases in Animals, a TSE-typical prion protein was clearly detected.

This is the 12nd BSE case in 2004 in Bavaria. In 2003 there were 21 cases of BSE, 27 in 2002, 59 in 2001 and five in 2000. Altogether there are 124 cases of BSE in Bavaria.

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Demand partly weaker due to holidays

In the holiday month of July, predominantly subdued sales are to be expected on the German agricultural markets. Price weaknesses are foreseeable for young bulls and calves for slaughter. Cows and pigs are initially valued as stable to firm, but towards the end of the month slight deductions cannot be ruled out here either. Poultry prices are stable. The demands for cheese are likely to increase somewhat, and fixed prices for skimmed milk powder are still on the cards. There is little demand for new potatoes for the fresh market, while the processing industry has a very high demand. Prices should therefore stabilize. After the weather-related failures last year, there are signs of significantly higher harvests of bush berries and sweet cherries this summer. A plentiful supply can also be expected for most types of vegetables. Slaughter cattle prices above previous year's level

Demand for beef will focus on grilled goods and pan-fry items, and cuts for minced meat production should also still be in demand. However, the rest of the range is difficult to place on the market. Stockpiling by cutting and processing plants will remain within very narrow limits in anticipation of falling demand during the holiday season. The need of the slaughterhouses is therefore correspondingly low. Producer prices for young bulls are likely to weaken and hit their seasonal lows. Due to the very limited supply, strong discounts are not to be expected, especially since the market is supported by constant deliveries of precious parts to southern Europe. The young bull prices are expected to exceed the previous year's line.

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Bonus removed

The branded meat bonus for slaughter pigs will be canceled or drastically reduced in the future for fatteners who belong to Premium-Fleisch AG based in Zeven and Lingen. This is the message that Dr. Heinz Schweer, CEO of Premium Fleisch AG at this year's general meeting of the company on June 16, 2004. Premium Fleisch had made considerable losses in recent years and in 2003, for example, had to cope with a loss of EUR 800.000. According to Schweer, this development requires the bonus payments to be reduced. The branded meat line cost the company over 2003 million euros in 2,3 alone. In 2003, the company slaughtered around 1,3 million pigs and around 42.200 cattle.

According to Schweer, the company's poor results are primarily due to the fact that discounters such as Aldi and Lidl have entered the meat business. "Premium Fleisch only markets goods that have been produced according to QS criteria, and in view of the development at the discounters it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell them profitably," says Schweer.

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Gained market share with higher slaughter numbers / sales only increased slightly due to significant price declines / trend towards self-service meat unbroken

WESTFLEISCH eG, headquartered in Münster, Westphalia, was once again able to significantly increase the slaughtering and cutting performance in the 4 meat centers in the past financial year. While pig slaughter increased by 10,4% to over 4 million pigs (4,1 million) for the first time, the number of cattle slaughtered rose to more than 253.000 (+2,6%) and calves to 37.000 (+ 3,2%). 

In contrast, in the overall market in Germany, pig slaughtering increased by only 3,2%, while cattle slaughtering fell by 8,4% and calf slaughtering by 7,6%. In this way, WESTFLEISCH was able to gain market share for all types of animals. With this quantity structure, it was possible to increase meat sales by a total of 6,9% to around 619.000 tons per year.

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World Barbecue Team from Zurich wins the coveted title - pictures are now online

At the 6th Barbecue World Championships from 4.-6. On June 2004, 2004, the World Barbecue Team from Zurich took the overall victory and the title of World Barbecue Champion. The team www.goldenes-kreuz.ch from Frauenfeld/Switzerland won second place and the title "Vice Grill World Champion". The Waldviertler Hornochsengriller from Horn/Austria took third place. The Sieben Schwaben from Tübingen became the best German team and thus the German Grillmeister XNUMX.

The food photographer Gerhard Eppinger and his team captured impressive, brilliant photos, which can be seen and ordered on the website www.foodpic.de.

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Discounter with a market share of almost 50% - avalanche of costs for raw materials and energy - summer too wet

The earnings situation in the German meat products industry has been increasingly strained since the beginning of the year. The producers of sausage and ham, one of the leading sectors of the German food industry with a turnover of 12 billion euros, are suffering particularly from the sharp increase in raw material costs since the beginning of the year. In the first half of the year, the price for half a pig rose from 1,16 euros/kg to 1,50 euros/kg, and significantly more for typical processed goods such as cheeks and bellies and sow meat.

Increased crude oil prices cause higher film and packaging costs. Higher electricity costs and significantly increased insurance premiums are also having a negative impact on the earnings situation. Continuously rising personnel costs and ancillary personnel costs can no longer be compensated for by increases in productivity. At the same time, the persistently cool weather meant that the demand for seasonal items was significantly lower than in the previous year, when the high temperatures brought the sector a good barbecue season.

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Summary from the meat information service from Germany, issue 04-2004

When it comes to marketing agricultural products, the focus is usually on enjoyment and nutritional value. In addition, the aspect of nature conservation has long been of particular importance for German sheep farming. The reason for this is the increasing importance of landscape maintenance. Sheep grazing as landscape maintenance is a service that is usually financed with public funds. The combination of lamb production and landscape conservation therefore makes sense and is also particularly attractive for the consumer. This "natural image" of lamb could be used specifically for marketing in order to significantly increase the consumption of German lamb.

There is already a wide range of different lamb marketing projects. They place nature conservation and landscape management, regional origin, species-appropriate animal husbandry and product quality at the center of their communication. An example of notable regional marketing concepts is the “Altmühltaler Lamm” project. In the Altmühltal Nature Park (approx. 300.000 ha), securing and preserving the ecologically valuable lean and dry biotopes that characterize the landscape is an important goal that can only be achieved through traditional herding. Directly related to this is the objective of establishing an advertising medium and a regional specialty with the defined quality product "Altmühltaler Lamm". 40 shepherds and migrant shepherds are now involved in the project, producing around 10.000 lambs a year. Approximately 2.500 of these lambs are marketed regionally as "Altmühltaler Lamm" via butchers and restaurants.

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Anyone who has volunteered knows how difficult it can be if you are not prepared for the tasks and responsibilities that come with it. However, good preparation is not always possible due to time and organizational reasons.

In order to prepare new volunteers - for example foremen or board members and their potential successors - for the tasks of a volunteer, the German Butchers' Association is launching a "seminar for volunteering and association work".

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