Beef production in the European Union (EU) is expected to "fall significantly by 2035" according to new report.

The European Commission published its latest EU Agricultural Outlook report today (Tuesday, December 16) which sets out the prospects for agriculture in the EU until 2035.

According to the outlook EU agriculture is expected to "sustain its high level of productivity" in general - despite challenges posed by climate change and the "availability and affordability of inputs".

But the authors of the report also caution that agricultural productivity growth in the EU is expected to slow in the period to 2035 because of the "combined effect of adverse weather, continued sustainable transformation of the sector and technological improvements, leading to lower productivity gains for cerealand oilseed crops, but more favourable trends for milk and poultry production".

Specifically in relation to beef production the commission's latest report points to a decline in production "driven by herd reduction, some stricter national regulatory frameworks, and issues with generational renewal".

The authors of the report stated: "Although support from the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and a favourable price outlook may slow the decline, production is expected to fall significantly by 2035.

"While global demand for beef is rising, particularly in regions like China and the Middle East, EU meat exports are constrained by limited supply and competitive pressures, while live animal exports could also decline due to welfare concerns and an emphasis on intra-EU trade".

The report details that beef production declined this year and is projected to continue declining and fall by "an additional 615000 tonne to 6.1 million tonne between now and 2035".

EU Agricultural Outlook

One of the issues identified in the new outlook report is around "structural changes" in the sector.

"Labour productivity growth is expected to be the main driver of EU productivity," they highlighted.

The report outlines that the value of EU agricultural output is projected to grow steadily "contributing to an increase in real agricultural income per worker over the outlook".

However the authors warn that overall farm economic viability "will remain closely tied to farm economic size, as on average larger farms are depicted to experience better income prospects than smaller ones".

They also expect that the overall environmental impact of EU farms is expected to improve and believe there will be a reduction in both "greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen surplus".