Meat buyers could soon be facing surpluses and plunging prices ­ even though scarcities will push up their costs in the short term. The government's plan to allow the movement of some livestock direct to slaughterhouses ­ expected to start next week ­ will ease the pressure being exerted on the supply chain. But unless UK processors are allowed to resume shipments overseas, the market here could soon have to absorb extra product totalling at least 300,000 tonnes annually. The obvious implication is a price collapse as this meets possibly weakening consumer demand. For now, the big issue for buyers is upward price pressure. With cattle, sheep and pigs trapped on farms, the supply chain has been emptied of home produced meat. The beef sector at least had some stocks as a cushion. Before the crisis started. this corner of the market had been disrupted by imports, especially German bull beef, due to the demand collapse triggered by the BSE scare late last year. Immediate increases in the prices of pork and bacon along the distribution chain reflected the lack of a stock buffer in this sector. UK pig slaughterings have fallen dramatically in the past year. Although the kill has not fallen sharply in most other EU countries, the Dutch and Danes have reported tight supplies because of buoyant exports to third country markets. This, together with the shift in demand from beef to pigmeat on the continent in response to the BSE problem there, has kept business brisk and stocks low. Adding to the pressure is the fact available supplies of home produced live lambs and hoggets have been relatively subdued, exports have been unexpectedly strong (again due in part to the BSE scare on the Continent) and imports from New Zealand have been slightly lower than anticipated (although more is being flown in by retailers). The Danes and Dutch claim to have been unable to meet all the sudden extra demand for pork and bacon. The Irish pigmeat trade has surged, and imports from France and Spain, which usually attract little attention, are suddenly being noticed. The impact on prices in the wholesale market has been rises of at least 10% across the board in pigmeat and lamb, with much sharper increases for some cuts and carcase types. {{NEWS }}