TheMeatSite Newsletter - 11 May 2011

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 11th May 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Pressure Building to Sign Trade Agreements

Pressure is building in the US for the government to ratify the free trade agreements that have been negotiated with Colombia, South Korea and Panama.

The National Pork Producers Council and 39 state pork associations in a letter sent to Republican and Democrat leaders in the Senate and House urged lawmakers to approve three pending free trade agreements.

The groups asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Speaker John Boehner, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to vote on FTAs with Colombia, Panama and South Korea “as soon as possible after receiving [from the White House] the enabling legislation.”

“Colombia, Panama and South Korea are crucial markets for US agricultural products, and the industry stands to gain sales with implementation of the FTAs,” said NPPC President Doug Wolf.

“For the US pork industry, the trade agreements with those countries will add significantly to producers’ bottom line and create thousands of pork industry jobs.”

Globally, agricultural trade has reached an all-time high, over the last year, at least 12 per cent above the previous record set in 2008.

The impact of the economic crisis led to a contraction of six per cent in 2009 but global agricultural exports rebounded by over 19 per cent last year.

The EU as well as the other top exporters all benefited from buoyant markets. Following the slump in 2009, the EU, the US and Brazil bounced back with over 20 per cent growth in exports, to reach record levels in 2010.

For the past three years, the EU and the US have been roughly neck and neck as the world's leading agri-food exporters.

In France, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, met representatives from producer, processor and retailer groups last week to diccuss the volatility of commodity prices in the livestock sector.

Under a voluntary agreement, all these players have pledged to open negotiations on conditions of sale of products derived from cattle, pigs and poultry, due to the recent excessive variation in the rise and decline in food prices.

The negotiation will focus on pigs, young calves, heifers and oxen as well as products from these animals: carcases, fresh meat, ham and meat curing products, and whole birds and cut.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 5 new features this week:

Chilean Meat Consumption Hits Record High
Chilean meat consumption reached record highs in 2010 with almost 181 lbs per capita, according to a report from the USDA foreign Agricultural Service.

A Supply Chain Approach To Beef Quality
Managing for beef quality isn't an arbitrary end-product objective, panelists pointed out at a Cattlemen's College session.

BPEX Export Bulletin - April/May 2011
The British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin for April/May 2011 reports that pig meat trade in the EU is starting the rise and the US is seeing a narrowing of prices.

Variation in Turkey Meat Colour: a Consumer Issue in Germany
Consumers may be put off turkey meat purchases if they notice variations between different cuts or packs, according to Dr Krischek of Hanover University, who then outlined some of the factors affecting turkey meat colour. Jackie Linden, senior editor for TheMeatSite reports.

Orange Derivative Effective against Listeria
The combination of nisin and a natural derivative of oranges inhibits Listeria monocytogenes, according to new research from the University of Arkansas.