Evolution du marché et des structures de production porcine

Evolution of the Merket and the Structures in the Pork Meat Production - Since 1966, an annual survey among pig breeders relates the evolution of the production structures in the pork meat branch. The Rationalisation Plan, started in 1969, has stimulated the improvement of the production structures so that they are now probably better than in West Germany. Besides, the regions of Bretagne and the North have now reached stock sizes similar to those of Belgium, although still smaller than those of Great Britain or the Netherlands. In 1975, 90 % of the production should be supplied by less than 50.000 pig breeders. The home production is not sufficient to cover the demand of the French consumers, only to the extent of 85 %. This percentage has been seadily declining for the past decade. In any case, it would take ten years to obtain a balanced situation, which is not necessarily desirable in the hypothesis of a common agricultural market. In the long run, the pollution problems may change the concentration of pig breeding from the traditional areas of Western and Northern France to cereal-growing or to underpopulated areas.