The Country Beef sector benefited from the Lokal Show, early September, to highlight the butcher's profession. The first competition for the best butcher in Reunion Island took place under the watchful eye of Romain Leboeuf, elected best butchery worker in France in 2015. A look back at this event which demonstrates the firm desire of the beef industry to move forward.
As part of its A.V.E.N.I.R. project., the Reunion beef industry has, with all interprofessional stakeholders, once again engaged at the beginning of 2023 in the fight for food sovereignty on our island and in strengthening the quality and sustainability of its production. Boeuf Pays production – 1,233 tonnes in 2022 – represents 43% of fresh beef consumed in Reunion. Pei beef is used entirely on the island in order to offer quality local meat.. This year, the sector has placed particular emphasis on the proximity between breeders and butchers. The butcher's profession is in fact anchored within the local sector and the territory.. It’s a job that requires versatility, attention to detail and a lot of passion. The work of the breeder who patiently raises his animal to the optimal stage would have no purpose without a qualified butcher to carry out the appropriate cutting and best advise consumers.. Reciprocally, the butcher's talent can only take effect on an animal raised with care. We always savor differently a dish whose origin we know. The link between the breeder, the butcher and the consumer therefore appear more important than ever.
A sector of activity that is recruiting
For Olivier Robert, president of the Sica Revia, the cooperative of Boeuf Pays breeders, “butchers are our best ambassadors, they are passionate and committed alongside Bœuf Pays breeders. They do rigorous work and we are proud to be able to work hand in hand with them on quality actions for the benefit of our consumers”. The butcher competition organized during the Lokal Salon was the first of its kind in Reunion Island. With this ordeal, the sector wanted to highlight a profession that deserves to regain its letters of nobility and initiate a dynamic of excellence among the island's butchers. In the meeting, just like in mainland France, there are more and more vacancies in butchery, whether within the traditional departments of mass distribution, in independent butchery or within industrial tools.
Quality products and committed professionals
These are in fact four competitions which were held throughout the Lokal Show : two competitions for apprentice butchery students ; a, to CAP butcher learners and the fourth, to apprentice students with a professional butcher certificate. They concluded with a cutting demonstration and presentation of a department by the winners of the competitions with Romain Leboeuf. The four winners are Laurent Furic, Dimitri Polladou, Alexandre Azagamel et Anthony Velihama. “The butchery, In my opinion, it's a family affair, and I am proud to represent this beautiful profession which requires know-how to promote noble products. In the meeting, you do not have to be ashamed of the quality of your products and you can trust your committed professionals”, argued Romain Leboeuf at the end of the event.
The beef industry in battle order
Taking advantage of a rather buoyant market for local production, the Reunion cattle industry, brought together within its inter-profession ARIBEV (Reunion Island Interprofessional Livestock Association, meat and dairy products), reassessed its production objectives for 2030.
Breeders, with their producer group Sica Revia, distributors and artisan butchers have set themselves the goal of increasing production by more than 800 tonnes and strengthening the quality of their products. On the market, this desire will result in more visible product segmentation and official quality certification by 2030.. Breeders commit to agroecological practices, with in particular an objective of High Environmental Value certification (HVE) for Hauts farms. Essential to promote this work carried out collectively, proximity between breeders and butchers is considered an important axis of the development plan. The sector has adopted a specific charter, more than ten years ago, which provides for both good visibility of Bœuf Pays products on the shelves and regular meetings between breeders and butchers, especially during breeding visits. In 2023, the sector focused on the profession of Reunionese butchers, his partners, among others during the Lokal Show. Nowadays, 358 breeders join Sica Revia, group in charge of meat marketing and sustainable development of Reunion farms, and 405 direct jobs depend on the sector.
THE RESPONSIBLE CHALLENGE
The DEFI recognition sign is known to indicate on the shelves local products benefiting from public aid allowing the public price to be reduced to support the livestock sector.. As part of a global strategy, RESPONSIBLE DEFI has been implemented since 2018 and until 2025 to promote agroecological practices on livestock farms (commitment certified by the HVE label), while continuing to support an advantageous quality-price ratio of the products. Another objective of DÉFI RESPONSIBLE is to gain new outlets for péi meat in the CHR sector and in public collective catering markets..
