Isabel Moretti confirms that there is still a shortage of beef. The shortage around the turn of the year was mainly explained by circumstances surrounding the Christmas and New Year's holidays, such as logistics; we are more at home and eat more meat.
The message was that the shortage would be resolved within a couple of weeks. But that didn't happen.
We have a decreasing production of beef. And this is not just in Sweden, but throughout the EU, says Moretti.
It's about the fact that it's not just consumers who have been affected by the recent price increases, high interest rates, and inflation. It has also happened in the production chain, so they haven't invested at the rate they normally do.
No shortage of pork
Since the problem is the same in Europe, import is not a solution.
Even if there is some import, the import is expensive and we don't have extremely large volumes.
Moretti wants to emphasize that the shortage concerns beef – there is, for example, no shortage of pork.
The reason why beef is a scarce commodity is that beef production has longer cycles – at least three years – while pig and chicken are significantly faster.
A cow gets a calf or maybe two, but a sow gets many more piglets. The on-and-off button reacts faster in the entire system.
"Based on demand"
Moretti says that a sustained and scaled-up production also builds on the fact that demand from consumers also increases.
We have an incredibly uncertain global situation, both politically and market-wise, right now. It's a serious situation where we need to have continued demand.
According to Moretti, it's impossible to say when the empty shelves in the store can be a thing of the past.
