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A further 833 abattoirs need modest investment before accession. It means that some 1,891 plants have no chance of reaching EU standards.

The Polish Government and the EU have negotiated a transition period of two to three years for 400 processing plants.

The Polish red meat industry is very fragmented. While 80 slaughterhouses and meat processing plants account for 50 per cent of meat and sausage production, the rest is divided between thousands of small businesses.

In the year 2000 some 2,744 abattoirs operated red meat lines. The majority of businesses employed fewer than five people and only slaughtered on two or three days a week.

Source: Meat and Livestock Commission - January 2003