Competitiveness of Livestock Production in Slovenia During the Process of Association to the EU

By joining the European Union (EU) Slovene livestock production will be faced with changed conditions. The production will have to adapt to the values and quality achieved during the negotiations with the EU. Currently, milk production in Slovenia nearly equals the negotiated quotas. In the coming years a decrease of about 14,000 dairy cows, and about 4,000 dairy herds is expected. The number of cows per farm will therefore increase from 9.3 to over 12.5 cows, while the purchased milk per cow will reach 5,100 kg and purchased milk per farm 63,000 kg. Existing estimates show that after the accession to the EU the prices of young fattened cattle and calves will increase. Hence the interest in meat production will improve, and home consumption (23 kg per capita) will be exceeded by about 10 %, if industrial crossing prevails. Large scale pig farms will have to solve the manure problems. In the coming years pig production on family farms will increase because family farms can better solve the slurry problem. In poultry production the production of turkeys has increased (15 %), and more free range broilers have been produced. The production will exceed the domestic consumption being now 25 kg per capita per year. We consume 180 eggs per capita, which equals the production. Our needs will thus be covered in future. The number of sheep and goats has been increasing for the past 10 years. It even exceeded the negotiated quota last year hence an increased number of small ruminants cannot be expected, but higher meat consumption and increased quantities of milk and milk products can be achieved