CMA and the German Butchers' Association focus on further development

For more than 30 years, the CMA quality mark has been used to identify particularly high-quality products from the German agricultural and food industry. Also this year, the CMA Centrale Marketing-Gesellschaft der Deutschen Agrarwirtschaft mbH honored the excellent craftsmanship of German butchery businesses.

Jörn Johann Dwehus, Managing Director of the CMA, Manfred Rycken, President of the German Butchers' Association, and the well-known TV chef Armin Roßmeier personally presented the certificates to 120 of a total of 855 award-winning companies today in Frankfurt. As part of the award ceremony, the consistent further development of the tried-and-tested CMA quality mark concept "Handwerkliche Meister-Quality" (HMQ) for the butcher trade - the new CMA attestation HMQ - was presented.

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Supplements to the asparagus very cheap

The local asparagus season is in full swing, and for many consumers, a portion of raw or cooked ham and melted butter or a hollandaise sauce is simply a must. The retail trade offers many products very cheaply in special campaigns, which is good news for buyers.

According to the representative consumer price surveys by the ZMP, 100 grams of cooked ham recently cost an average of EUR 1,20, which means that consumers are paying three cents less than a year ago and 13 cents less than three years ago. In special offers in shops, cooked ham is currently often available for significantly less than one euro per 100 grams. And even those who prefer the raw version will find cheap offers, for example on Black Forest ham, nut ham or air-dried varieties, which start at just 1,29 euros per 100 grams begin.

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Strong presence in food retail

In this country, the most common people who reach for organic vegetables are carrots: Last year, root vegetables ranked number one on the popularity list with a share of 27 percent of all organic vegetables bought. Because carrots are standard in the organic program of most food retailers because of their good shelf life. Organic tomatoes followed with a quantitative share of eleven percent in the organic vegetable range, followed by organic onions with seven percent, according to the data from ZMP and CMA based on the GfK Organic Special Panel 2003.

On the other hand, when purchasing all of the vegetables, most of which come from conventional cultivation, tomatoes dominated, while carrots came in second, just ahead of cucumbers.

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Surprisingly, the relatively high costs do not necessarily mean that Dutch pig farming is at a competitive disadvantage compared to its Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese, Polish and US competitors. This was the result of a joint study by the Agricultural Economic Institute LEI and Rabobank. Although labor and building costs are highest in the Netherlands, Dutch feed costs are quite competitive with those in Brazil. The study also attests to the qualitative advantages of the Dutch: As long as Brazil concentrates on the production of cheap, deep-frozen pork, the Dutch pig farmers would hardly have to fear a loss of market share. Added to this are the logistical competitive advantages of the Dutch due to their physical proximity to the market. However, if it is technically possible to market Brazilian meat fresh in Europe, there could be problems.

According to the study, production in Canada and the USA will increase and, above all, lead to increased competition on the Japanese market for European producers. On the other hand, the increase in Chinese production, which currently amounts to around 580 million animals per year, should be fully absorbed by the local market. There may even be a need for imports for China.

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Livestock and Meat

Demand for beef on the wholesale meat markets was unsatisfactory. The focus of interest was on pan-fried items. The revenues for beef carcasses as well as for cuts remained mostly unchanged; However, club goods were often neglected and were under price pressure. At the slaughterhouse stage, the willingness of the bull fatteners to sell was very limited, also due to extensive field work. The slaughter companies therefore had to invest significantly more for young bulls than before, despite the moderate proceeds from meat sales, in order to achieve the required number of animals. Slaughter cows were quickly ordered by the slaughterhouses. The providers were able to push through strong price increases due to the supply. The national average prices for young bulls in the R3 class and for cows in the O3 class rose by five cents to EUR 2,46 and EUR 1,91 per kilogram slaughter weight. Firmer prices were also demanded for the shipment of young bull meat to southern Europe. It remains to be seen whether these can be enforced. – In the coming week, the payout prices for slaughter cattle could firm up further. On the one hand, the supply of slaughter cattle is likely to remain small, on the other hand, with a view to Pentecost, slight impulses in demand are expected, at least in the premium parts sector. – On the meat wholesale markets, veal could be marketed more smoothly than beef with unchanged prices. The prices for slaughter calves should therefore at least tend to be stable. The provisional prices for slaughter calves billed at a flat rate rose by three cents to 4,50 euros per kilogram slaughter weight. – Prices developed inconsistently on the veal market.

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Moguntia at the IFFA

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In the 56th year of its existence, ZENTRAG - the Central Cooperative of the German Butchers' Trade eG based in Frankfurt am Main - was able to achieve a sales volume of €237,3 million, which is nominally a decrease of 1,5% (compared to 2002), in the ZENTRAG own business means a respectable increase of at least 2,6%. The course of sales in the year under review was characterized to a very large extent by a reluctance to engage in risky transactions with business organizations that got into financial difficulties.

After slight price increases in the "poultry" and "non-food" areas were offset by significant, sometimes double-digit price reductions in the "meat" and "food" areas, the company believes that there is a real increase in sales compared to the previous year of around 2,5 %.

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Results of the GfK consumer climate study in May 2004

After a slightly positive trend in the past month, the consumer climate is down again in May. German consumers obviously have doubts about the ability of politics and business to stimulate the economy again and thus give new impetus to the labor market. This is indicated by the indicators of economic expectations, income expectations and propensity to buy, which are important for the consumer climate, all of which had to accept losses in May.

Despite the recently published, surprisingly positive report from the Federal Statistical Office on growth in gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year, the attitude of German consumers towards Germany's economic development remains plagued by doubts. Nor do they believe that their personal income situation will improve in the foreseeable future. In addition, their propensity to make major purchases in the near future remains weak. All in all, it looks as if the desire to consume, which is so important for the economic upswing in Germany, is still a long way off.

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The best way to good taste

WIBERG - partner of the food industry knows how to convincingly combine innovation with tradition. Under this motto, the Salzburg spice specialist presented not only promising new products at the IFFA 2004, but also a wide range of meat and sausage products, convenience products and packaging.
WIBERG Innovations Frisbee: A game of enjoyment
Target group: crafts

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Great need for information on the subject of ecological meat and sausage products at the IFFA

At the big meeting place for the meat industry, the IFFA (from 15th to 20th May 2004 in Frankfurt am Main), the trade fair visitors showed great interest in the topic of organic products. The central point of contact for questions about organic meat and sausage processing was the BMVEL special "Organic Farming and Processing" stand.

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Berlin software house sys-pro GmbH is awarded the contract for new logistics software

SPAR Österreichische Warenhandels-AG, Salzburg, has signed a contract with sys-pro GmbH, Berlin, to equip all eight group-owned TANN meat and sausage plants with the .proFood industry software. SPAR Austria

SPAR Österreichische Warenhandels AG, founded in 1954, then SPAR Tirol / Pinzgau, is today the largest Austrian trading company due to the merger of ten Austrian wholesalers. As a company for the wholesale and retail trade in food and for the production of meat and sausage products, wine, spirits, coffee and tea, SPAR has a comprehensive range of products.

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