TheMeatSite Newsletter - 11 January 2012

Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: See-saw Ride for Global Meat Markets

Over the last year, Australia saw beef and veal shipments increase by three per cent, reaching 949,195 tonnes according to the figures from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).

Meat and Livestock Australia said that by beating the 922,833 tonnes in exports for 2010 Australia’s beef and veal shipments finished the year at a rapid pace.

November’s shipments were the highest in three years, while the year concluded with a record December volume of 82,054 tonnes.

In the US, beef supplies at the moment appear to be at or above the levels of a year ago and there is some concern about the ability of the market to absorb higher supplies at current price levels.

The choice beef this week was 2.3 per cent lower than on 3 January but still some 13.3 per cent higher than the same period a year ago.

All the efforts that the Argentine Government have made to boost consumption of beef on the domestic market appear to have come to nothing as upward pressure on prices has seen beef consumption fall to 53.8 kg per capita per annum - the lowest levels for 91 years.

Reduced availability of products, increasing population size and higher prices are to blame.

The Chamber of Meat Trade and Meat Products (CICCRA) says that the consumption of beef fell 6.7 per cent over the last year, the lowest since 1920 when consumption was just 47 kg per capita.

However, sales of poultry and pork products have increased, largely because they are more competitively priced rather than seeing a change in eating habits.

Beef prices have increased by 130 per cent in the last year.

Mexico has seen its meat exports to Japan nearly double over the last year, reaching 70,134 tonnes, compared to 38,176 tonnes in 2010, according to figures from the National Health Service, Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASA).

The increase in meat exports to Japan has been put down to a concerted effort from Mexican producers and companies together with a push by the Federal Government to meet the sanitary requirements demanded by one of the world's most demanding markets.

South Korea’s self-sufficiency rate of pork dropped to the lowest point ever last year because of the massive culling of pigs in the wake of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks.

The self-sufficiency ratio of the meat stood at 60.3 per cent at the end of last year, down 20.6 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the data provided by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 6 new features this week:

Unwanted Fungal Growth on Dry-cured Meat Products
The growth of yeast and mould fungus often poses a threat to the quality of dry-cured meat and is a problem facing producers all over the world.

Global Poultry Industry Coming to Georgia
The global poultry industry will be making its way to Atlanta, Georgia, this month where the International Poultry Exposition has been held for the last 63 years.

Carbon Labels on Groceries Need Simplifying for Consumers
New research in the UK indicates that the public find carbon labels on grocery products difficult to understand.

Turkey Production in the EU
European production of turkeys remains rather stable at 1.8 million tons since the crisis of avian influenza in 2006, according to AVEC, the Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the EU Countries, in its annual report for 2011.

BPEX Export Bulletin – December 2011 – Week 51
The British Pig Executive's (BPEX) Export Bulletin reports pig industry trends from around the world. Among the highlights are that fifth quarter exports were clearly the winner in 2011 and the quote of the year belongs to a beef processor who said "Meat has become a by-product of by-products".

NAB Rural Commodities Wrap – December 2011
Agricultural commodities are weakening as the result of the Euro sovereign debt crisis and rising production prospects, according to Michael Creed, Agribusiness Economist at the National Australia Bank in the Economic Report for December 2011.

Company News

Gainco Distributes Viking Masek Equipment
US - Gainco, a manufacturer of yield management, packing and distribution systems for meat and poultry processors, has reached an agreement with Viking Masek Global Packaging Technologies, in which Gainco has been named the exclusive authorised distributor and reseller of Viking vertical form-fill-seal packaging machinery and systems to the poultry processing industry in the US.

Global Meat Industry News