TheMeatSite Newsletter - 4 January 2012

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 4th January 2012

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: Meat Prices to Stay Strong in 2012

In recent months exports have been driving pig and pig meat prices up and according to analysis in the Whole Hog there does not appear to be any sign of prices weakening.

Just prior to the Christmas and New Year holiday period, the march upward for prices was seen to be continuing, even including seasonal changes.

In the US, the market analysts Steve Meyer and Len Steiner predict that the weakness of the US dollar and the free trade agreements that have just been signed with South Korea, Colombia and Panama will help to maintain the surge in exports in beef and pig meat that has been seen throughout 2011.

Even the latest figures from Brazil have shown a surge in the value of pig meat exports, despite the fact that volumes have only marginally increased.

The latest figures from ABIPECS show that Brazil exported 43,039 tonnes of pork in November, which was marginally up on the same month last year. The average price per ton in US dollars - $3,035 - was 13.4 per cent higher than a year ago.

The value of export sales in November was US$130.6 million, almost 13.5 per cent more than in November 2010.

For the year-to-date, the total volume of pork exported was 479,487 tonnes, down five per cent compared to a year ago. The value of those exports, however, was 6.6 per cent higher at almost $1.331 billion. The average price of pig meat over the year to date was $2,776 per tonne, up 12.2 per cent from a year ago.

However, despite these strong and favourable markets, this last week has seen prices in the EU weaken.

On almost all European markets the quotations went down considerably at the turn of the year this week.

Germany led the way with an 8 Euro cent drop in quotation prices, while the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria reported a 6 to 7 Euro cent drop. Italy recorded a 5 Euro cent drop.

Denmark that reported a 5 Euro cent drop last week recorded another drop of 3 Euro cents this week.

This could be a temporary holiday blip and future currency weakness and strong export demand in China and South East Asia will start to see higher prices again.

Meanwhile Russia has announced a cut in its pig and poultry meat Tariff Rate Quotas for 2012, while Kazakhstan has seen a rise in the amount of beef and pork it will let in and Belarus has maintained its quotas.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 7 new features this week:

Rapid Detection of Viable Listeria monocytogenes in Chilled Pork
Scientists based in Nanjing describe a method to show the presence of live cells of the foodborne pathogen, L. monocytogenes, in chilled pork and to predict the approximate level of contamination by using an RNA-dependent real-time PCR method.

Evaluating Interventions against Salmonella in Broiler Chickens
A combination of on-farm and processing interventions was the most effective in achieving relative reductions in the concentration and prevalence of Salmonella by the end of chilling in a Canadian experiment using a scoping study and systematic review-meta-analysis.

Food Processing Sector in Russia
The Russian economy has entered a 'post-crisis' period of moderate growth. Domestic demand, which collapsed in 2009, has been gaining strength, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

BPEX Export Bulletin - December 2011 - Week 50
The British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin reports pig industry trends from around the world. Among the highlights are that the UK Government is to launch a food and drink export action plan in January, which is to include a strategy to remove animal health trade barriers in key markets such as China and Russia. Regulations on imports to South Africa of pork originating from non PRRS-free countries have been issued.

Strategies To Achieve High Marbling
A recent Beef CRC project led by Dr Paul Greenwood, Principal Research Scientist at New South Wales Primary Industries, has sought to determine if it is possible to increase marbling through the strategic use of high energy supplements immediately post-weaning.

Perspectives on Poultry World Markets 2011-2012
According to the projections of OECD-FAO, agricultural production is expected to increase in the short term, assuming normal weather, as a result of an expected supply response to current high prices.

Russian Federation: GOR Ag Development Forecast for 2012-2014
An overview of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development's macroeconomic assumptions and sector-specific production forecasts on grain, sugar, oilseeds, meat, poultry, dairy, fishery, forestry, and food retail/catering in the latest GAIN report from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

Company News

Bettcher Launches Optimax
US - Bettcher Industries has introduced the Optimax Automatic Batter/Breading Machine that brings breading of fresh menu items into the 21st Century for restaurateurs.

Middleby Announces Acquires Armor Inox
GLOBAL - The Middleby Corporation has acquired Armor Inox, a manufacturer of thermal processing systems for the food processing industry with approximate annual revenues of $25 million.

Global Meat Industry News