Development of a Strategic Approach for a Single EU Beef Market: An Evaluation of Changes in the EU Intervention system and Labelling Regulations in Relation to Irish Cattle Prices.

摘要

The intervention system for beef in the EU has undergone major changes since itsinception. These changes were introduced because of changing circumstances in theEU beef market and because of cost factors and inefficiencies associated with andarising from the intervention system itself. While justified from these perspectives itcan be said that from the perspective of beef producers the system has changed frombeing a mechanism which aimed at and operated to achieve a producer Guide Pricewhich in turn was defined as “……..the price which it is hoped to attain on averageon the Community market for all the quantities marketed during a given marketingyear” (Com 370, July 1976) to one which has abandoned all efforts at achieving adesirable producer price and which provides at best very short term stabilisation ofprice at its market level.The aim of this paper is to trace the major changes which have occurred to theintervention system and the concomitant price achievement of beef in general in theEU and especially that of Irish beef. These changes together with other market andpolicy factors occurring on and since 1996 have combined to give a historically poorprice performance for Irish beef which despite the growing importance of directpayments is still of major significance in the incomes and welfare of beef producers.