Report from the Commission to the Council on the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2137/92 concerning the Community scale for the classification of carcasses of ovine animals
Date: 2002-06-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: carcase, goat, price index, product quality, sheep, statistical nomenclature

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 12.06.2002
COM(2002) 295 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

on the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2137/92 concerning
the Community scale for the classification of carcasses of ovine animals

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

on the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2137/92 concerning
the Community scale for the classification of carcasses of ovine animals

1.

INTRODUCTION

According  to  Article  9  of  Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2137/92  concerning  the
Community scale for the classification of carcasses of ovine animals and determining
the  Community  standard  quality  of  fresh  or  chilled  sheep  carcasses  and  extending
Regulation (EEC)  No  338/91  determining the  Community standard  quality  of fresh
or  chilled  sheep  carcasses1,  the  Commission  is  required  to  submit  a  report  to  the
Council on its implementation by 31 July 2002 at the latest.

Article  9  of  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2137/92,  which  was  amended  after  the
Commission presented its last report to the Council on carcass classification2 states
that the report should be accompanied where necessary, by appropriate proposals in
particular with regard to the classification scale for carcasses, with the aim of making
its application, if possible, compulsory.

In fact since the last report was presented in 1997 there has been very little further
development  in  the  use  of  the  classification  grid  and  the  observations  contained  in
the  report  remain  largely  valid.  However,  the  reform  introduced  by  Council
Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001 on the common market organisation of the market in
sheepmeat and goatmeat3 changes the way in which the ewe premium is calculated
and as a consequence  has  implications for  price-reporting.  In  examining  whether  it
would be appropriate to make the  grid compulsory, it is necessary therefore to  also
take into account these changes.

2.

2.1.

BACKGROUND

Before the reforms introduced by Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001 the establishment
of market prices in the sheep sector was of particular importance as the Community
market  price  was  a  central  element  in  the  calculation  of  the  annual  ewe  premium.
These  market  prices  were  recorded  weekly  at  Member  State  level  according  to  a
Community  definition  of  standard  quality  of  sheep  carcasses  agreed  in  1991.  They
were then translated into the Community average market price.

The definition of standard quality contained in Council Regulation (EEC) No 338/91
determining the Community standard quality of fresh or chilled sheep carcasses4 was
introduced following the 1989 reform of the regime and was used for the purposes of

1

2

3

4

OJ  L  214,  30.7.1992,  p.  1.  Regulation  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2536/97  (OJ L 347,
18.12.1997, p. 6).
COM(97) 250 of 30.5.1997.
OJ L 341, 22.12.2001, p. 3.
OJ  L  41,  14.2.1991,  p.  1.  Regulation  repealed  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2529/2001  (OJ L 341,
22.12.2001, p. 3).

2

                                                
determining  prices  and  calculating  the  premium.  Price  reporting  based  on  standard
quality worked reasonably well insofar as it enabled an average Community price to
be calculated on the basis of comparable data provided by Member States.

However,  the  practical  implementation  of  this  definition  in  Regulation  (EEC)
No 338/91 involved the elimination, from price reporting, of lightweight carcasses of
between  9  and  11.9 kg  in  Spain,  Italy,  Greece  and  Portugal.  Furthermore,  the
Commission  implementing  provisions  in  Regulation  (EEC)  No  956/91  of  18 April
1991 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1481/86 on the determination of prices of fresh
or  chilled  sheep  carcasses  on  representative  Community  markets  and  the  survey  of
prices of certain other qualities of sheep carcasses in the Community5 interpreted the
phrase  “acceptable  fat  level”,  in  the  absence  of  carcass  classification  standards,  by
the application of different upper weight limits for carcasses reflecting Member State
production  practices.  These  limits  were  16 kg  in  Spain,  Italy,  Greece  and  Portugal,
21.5 kg in Great Britain, Ireland and Northern  Ireland, 22 kg in  France  and Austria
and 23 kg in Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.

In  effect  the  establishment  of  'standard  quality'  resulted  in  a  significant  part  of  the
throughput not being taken into account for fixing the Community average price. In
particular, the prices of light carcasses, which make up the bulk of the production in
Mediterranean countries, were never used in the calculation.

Even within standard quality there were still significant differences between prices in
the  different  Member  States.  These  differences  arose  mainly  from  variations  in
production  and  consumption  patterns,  seasonality  of  supply  and  degree  of  self-
sufficiency between Member States together with qualitative differences in terms of
carcass weights, conformation and fat levels.

2.2.

Conscious  of  the  need  to  improve  market  transparency,  the  Council,  in  1992,
introduced  a  carcass  classification  system  for  sheep.  This  classification  system,
which  is  voluntary  at  Community  level  provides  a  method  of  grading  carcasses
according to set criteria and thus establishes the possibility for producers to be paid
according to these criteria.

Among  the  long-term  objectives  for  the  Community  carcass  classification  scheme
was that it should provide the basis for a new definition of standard quality of sheep
carcasses for the purposes of price reporting.

3.

CARCASS CLASSIFICATION

3.1.

Regulatory Aspects

Regulation (EEC) No 2137/92 establishes the provisions concerning the Community
scale for the classification of sheep carcasses including, in particular,  the definition
of  the  carcass,  the  criteria  for  classification,  price  reporting  and  inspections.  It
establishes two classification systems:

– 

a system which describes both conformation and degree of fat cover, normally
referred to as the “SEUROP grid”,

5

OJ L 98, 19.4.1991, p. 8.

3

                                                
– 

a  system  which  may  apply  only  to  lambs  under  13 kg  and  which  describes
weight, meat colour and fat cover, normally referred to as the “A grid”.

Commission  Regulation  (EEC)  No  461/93  laying  down  detailed  rules  for  the
Community  scale  for  the  classification  of  carcasses  of  ovine  animals6  entered  into
force on 6 March 1993 with provision for price reporting based on classification with
effect for the first time on 8 April 1993 at the latest.

At  the  beginning  of  1995  the  Office  for  Official  Publications  of  the  European
Communities  published  brochures  issued,  in  all  Community  languages  except
Swedish and  Finnish, by  the  Commission  explaining the  Community  scales  for  the
classification  of  sheep  and  of  light  lambs.  These  brochures  are  available  from  the
Office : Ref. : SEUROP : CM-84-94-694; A grid : CM 84-94-703.

Since its introduction, both carcass classification and price reporting according to the
classification grid have been voluntary at slaughterhouse level.

In  accordance  with  the  regulations,  control  visits  have  been  made  to  all  Member
States  applying  the  grids  in  the  period  1993-2000  with  a  view  initially  to  align
grading  standards  among  Member  State  experts  and  to  ensure  that  these  standards
were adhered to in the slaughterhouses visited.

3.2.

Implementation at Member State level

As  far  as  implementation  in  the  Member  States  is  concerned,  carcass  classification
based  on  the  “SEUROP  grid”  is  compulsory  in  Finland,  France,  Sweden  and
Germany. In addition, some classification also takes place in Denmark, Ireland, and
the UK under this grid.

Classification of carcasses of lambs less  than  13  kg  weight  under  the  “A  grid”  has
taken place to a limited extent only in Spain, Portugal and Greece.

Virtually no progress has been made in the implementation of carcass classification
in Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Italy.

Several reasons have been put forward for the slow progress in the implementation of
carcass classification. Among these are:

– 

– 

– 

in many Member States, producers sell their lambs live in livestock markets or
directly  off  farms  to  slaughterhouse  owners  or  traders  and  have  no  further
interest in them. The transaction and payment is on live animals;

where producers do sell directly to slaughterhouses they often sell their lambs
in  lots  based  on  an  agreed  price  per  kg  carcass  weight.  Thus,  the  producer’s
interest,  with  the  exception  of  certain  producer  groups,  in  grading  may  be
academic rather than financial;

than
in  some  Member  States,  slaughterhouses  are  municipal 
privately/co-operatively owned so that grading facilities or personnel may not
be present;

rather 

6

OJ  L  49,  27.2.1993,  p.  70.  Regulation  last  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  823/98  (OJ L 117,
21.4.1998, p. 2).

4

                                                
– 

– 

– 

slaughterers  and  wholesalers  sometimes  suggest 
the  Community
classification system is not relevant in dealings at the  wholesale/retail side of
their businesses where a simple grading into first/second/third quality is often
the norm;

that 

disagreement between slaughterhouses and producers as to who carries out and
who pays for the classification;

virtual absence of a strong slaughter sector in Member States from which there
is a traditional important live export trade.

REFORM OF THE COMMON MARKET ORGANISATION

The  reforms  introduced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2529/2001  on  the  common
organisation  of  the  market  in  sheepmeat  and  goatmeat  have  important  implications
for price reporting and the role of carcass classification.

In particular, the replacement of the deficiency payment by a fixed premium means
that price reporting no longer has the same significance as previously. Under the new
regime there is no necessity to fix a basic price for fresh and chilled sheep carcasses
or  to  establish  a  weekly  average  Community  price.  The  provisions  that  established
these obligations have been repealed.

The reporting of prices by Member States is still required according to the provisions
of Commission Regulation (EC) No 315/2002 of 20 February 2002 on the survey of
prices  of  fresh  or  chilled  sheep  carcasses  on  representative  markets  in  the
Community7.  The  purpose  of  price  reporting  is  to  allow  the  trends  on  individual
markets to  be  monitored. This  task  is  necessary  in  order  for  the  Commission  to  be
able to  take a decision to  grant  private  storage  aid  if  a  particularly  difficult  market
situation  should  arise.  Such  a  decision  would  be  taken  in  the  light  of  the  situation
prevailing on the market concerned.

There  is  no  automatic  'trigger'  mechanism  whereby  private  storage  would  be
introduced if the price level on a particular market were to fall, and remain, below a
seasonally adjusted Community basic price. The provisions that formerly applied in
this regard have been repealed.

As  has  been  explained  above  the  establishment  of  'standard  quality'  resulted  in  a
significant  part  of  the  throughput  not  being  taken  into  account  for  fixing  the
Community  average  price  and  significant  differences  existed  between  prices  in  the
different  Member  States  for  standard  quality  carcasses.  In  view  of  the  fact  that
following the reform it  is no longer necessary  to  have  a Community  average price,
which is based on a comparable type of carcass, the notion of 'standard quality' is no
longer applicable. The relevant provisions have been repealed.

Although it appeared to be an effective cushion by protecting producers from falls in
price, the deficiency payment sheltered producers from the effects of the market. An
important  aim  in  replacing  this  by  a  fixed  premium  was  to  provide  a  sound  basis
upon  which  farmers  can  develop  their  production  in  a  more  market-orientated  way
than perhaps was previously the case. In this context the improvement in the quality

4.

4.1

4.2

4.3.

7

OJ L 50, 21.2.2002, p. 47.

5

                                                
of  meat  is  of  particular  importance.  Furthermore,  it  is  provided  for  within  the
framework  of  national  envelopes  established  in  Article 11  of  Regulation  (EC)
No 2529/2001  that  expenditure  may  include  payments  to  producers  engaged  in
specific types of production, in particular related to quality.

5.

CONCLUSIONS

The lack of progress in several Member States in implementing carcass classification
has been disappointing.

Carcass  classification  is  widely  developed  only  in  Finland,  Sweden  and  France.
Elsewhere,  with  the  exception  of  Germany,  it  is  dependent  on  the  goodwill  of
producers  and  slaughterers.  For  different  reasons,  including  a  preference  for  live
markets  and  for  selling  lambs  to  slaughterers  at  a  fixed  price  per  kg,  a  majority  of
producers  seem  to  be  reluctant  to  sell  lamb  via  the  classification  system.
Slaughterers, too, seem to be reluctant given the relatively few volunteers in several
Member States.

Following  the  reform  of  the  common  market  organisation  the  relevance  of  carcass
classification  for  the  purposes  of  price  reporting  has  diminished  in  line  with  the
general  decline in importance in the system  of  price  reporting  and  in  particular  the
need for comparable price data on the basis of standard quality.

In  the  light  of  the  above  it  is  questionable  whether  the  Community  carcass
classification grid should be made compulsory. It may even be argued that there is no
need for such a grid at all.

However,  where  it  is  applied  classification  is  considered  by  many  producers  and
slaughterhouse operators as a useful tool in achieving improvements in the quality of
the  product  sold  both  for  the  domestic  and  export  market.  In  that  respect,
classification  could  in  the  longer  term  lead  to  better  producer  prices  and  quality,
more in line with consumer demand  by  providing  an  objective  basis  for  measuring
performance and giving feedback to producers.

The Commission does not believe that the goal of making use of the grid compulsory
is  feasible.  On  the  other  hand,  it  does  not  feel  that  it  should  be  abandoned.  The
positive aspects of classification with regard to price transparency and improvement
of carcass quality lead the Commission to conclude that classification is of value to
the sector.

6.

PROPOSALS

The  Commission  proposes  that  the  use  of  the  Community  grid  be  not  made
obligatory. In effect, this means that carcass classification would remain a voluntary
tool at Community level to be used where it is seen to have a benefit for the sheep
industry.

Against  this  background,  the  Commission  proposes  that  the  carcass  classification
grid be left unchanged.

6

The Commission urges Member States to encourage slaughterhouses to use the grid
in the interests of increasing price transparency for producers and of contributing to
the improvement of carcass quality.

7