The slaughtering of beef cattle within the European Union (EU) is projected to decline by 1.9% this year to 30m head, compared with 2004, said the European Commission, in a detailed report.
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Brussels said the decline had been influenced by reforms to subsidies paid under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, rather than purely by market factors. In a similar report, the Commission predicted 2005 sheep meat production would be 2.6% down from 2004, at 63.1m head, and also that goat production would drop 2.6% to 7.8m.
