TheMeatSite Newsletter - 13 January 2010

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 13th January 2010

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: China Could Open Up for EU

Pig meat imports into China might have been falling over the last year - largely affected by increased domestic production and the effect of the H1N1 virus, but according to a report by Bord Bia, European exports to that market are on the up.

The report shows that the momentum could keep going for the EU and it is set fair for the EU to capitalise on the slump in trade with both the US and Canada.

This week the World Organisation for Animal Health, the OIE, announced its first environmental study to monitor how meat production is affecting climate change.

The study follows concerns about the methane produced by livestock production and in the face of an anticipated rise in meat consumption.

In the US, the long running debate of the legitimacy of country of origin labelling (COOL) took another twist as the American Meat Institute told the Office of the US Trade Representative that a mandatory measure would violate US trade obligations.

"The US COOL requirements, as provided for in the 2002 Farm Bill (and modified in the 2008 Farm Bill) and as implemented through regulations that became effective March 16, 2009, are not consistent with US obligations under both WTO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ("GATT") and NAFTA," said AMI Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel Mark Dopp.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

Chicken Meat to Top 81MT This Year
Based on newly published data from the FAO, chicken meat production is likely to top 81 million tonnes this year, writes Terry Evans for TheMeatSite.

Australia - Livestock and Products Annual 2009
The prospects for the Australian pig industry are better for 2010 than in recent years, according to Mike Darby, Agricultural Specialist, in the latest GAIN report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

International Trade Considerations For US Beef
Livestock Marketing Information Centre (LMIC) Director, Jim Robb, offered a “big picture” view of the status of the US beef export market during the opening session of the 21st annual Range Beef Cow Symposium in Casper, Wyoming.

Quality Grades: Why The Recent Upswing
How quickly the beef quality quandary changed. Just three years ago, the industry pondered a 30-year decline in quality grades, according to Larry Corah and Mark McCully. Then, grades headed higher in late 2007, and by July 2009, 60.1 per cent of federally graded cattle for the year had graded Choice. This paper explores the reasons for that unprecedented 7.5-percentage-point shift. Distillers grain byproducts and genetics play major roles.

Company News

Date Change for VIV China 2010
CHINA - VNU Exhibitions Europe, organiser of the VIV trade shows, announces a date change for VIV China 2010. VIV China will take place from 6 to 8 September 2010 at the New China International Exhibition Center in Hall West 1, 2 and 3.

Global Meat Processing Industry News