Yesterday the department of agriculture reported that farmers delivered 763 900 tons of meat to the market last year, a 14 percent increase on 2005.

Pieter Cornelis, livestock manager at Agrimark, said there had been a shift to meat as incomes rose.

The demand for beef and veal grew by 13 percent to an average of 17.4 kilograms per person.

But suppliers did not feel that demand would increase by much more. Arnold Pretorius, chief executive of meat supplier Karan Beef, said that although meat prices had dropped slightly in the past two months, they were likely to increase again given that feed prices were rising.

"It is hard to attribute the previous year's sales to the growing middle-class market," he said. "The demand and prices have been fluctuating since the beginning of the year."

His sentiments were shared by Red Meat Abattoir Association manager Gerhard Neethling, who said prices had gone up and down throughout last year.

He said the market remained stable and current demand could not be solely attributed to the growing economy.

Source: Business Report