In his Autumn statement, the Chancellor announced that the Government will launch a food and drink export action plan in January 2012, including development of a cross-Government strategy on removing animal health trade barriers in key markets such as China and Russia; regional road-shows for prospective exporters; a food and drink business ambassador; and steps to reduce blockages to UK food exports. In addition a summit will be held in March 2012 to boost innovation in small agri-food businesses.

The much-delayed regulations on imports to South Africa of pork originating from non PRRS-free countries were issued on 5 December. The 22-page document is available from the export office. All such imports will be subjected to further processing. No date for implementation has been given but the EU and Canada plan to protest to the South African authorities prior to lodging a complaint to WTO as PRRS is not a notifiable disease under OIE rules. [For more information on PRRS, click here].

Heard at a meat conference at the National Veterinary School at Maisons-Alfort near Paris: ‘Meat and bone meal was initially used in Germany in the 1830s and it is about time that we stop making pigs vegetarian.’

EU

New research programme on castration

The EU has committed €1.8 million in new research programmes regarding castration.
(Source, Agrarisch Dagblad)

Denmark

Market

On the European market, fresh legs are sold at unchanged or slightly decreasing prices. Other cuts are sold steadily at an unchanged price level. On the British bacon market, the situation remains unchanged compared to the latest weeks. Exports to third countries remain unchanged.
(Sources, Danish Crown, Tican, Danish Agriculture and Food Council)

New positive forecast

Expectations as to Danish pig prices for 2012 are strongly increasing. Danish Agriculture and Food Council predicts that the pig quote for all 2012 will end at €1.426 per kg compared to €1.400 at the latest forecast for pig prices in September. Hereby Danish Agriculture and Food Council follows other analysts that lately evaluated that next year pig prices will continue increasing. The forecasted pig quote excludes the annual residual payment to the co-operatively owners of the slaughterhouses. In particular, it is the prospect of a significantly better first quarter of 2012 which altogether will lead to an improvement of 2.6 cents per kg. In a commentary, the market analyst, Karsten Flemin, of Danish Agriculture and Food Council writes that he will make an upward adjustment of 8.7 cents per kg for the last quarter of the year due to the fine export markets outside the EU. In particular, the development of prices during the first six months of 2012 is expected to be somewhat better than previously expected.
(Source, Landbrug og fødevarer, Landbrugsavisen)

Pig producers will get increasing earnings

The long-expected progress in earnings for pig producers will really work through during 2012 and 2013 according to a new forecast from Danish Agriculture and Food Council. In particular, it is the case for piglet producers who will change from a deficit of €13,000 this year to an average profit of €100,000 in 2013. The slaughter pig producers can expect a more moderate increase from a profit of €13,000 this year to a profit of €53,000 in 2013. A strong improvement is expected in 2012 due to an improved exchange ratio combined with productivity improvements and continuing low interest rates. Prices of feed grain are expected to be slightly declining as well.
(Source, Landbrugsavisen)

DanePork expands daily production

The slaughterhouse DanePork is planning a strong expansion and has filed an application for permission to expand production from 90 tonnes to 600 tonnes daily for slaughtered pigs. It corresponds to slaughtering approximately 42,360 pigs weekly, and it will make DanePork reach almost half the size of Danish Crown at Horsens, which slaughters 100,000 pigs weekly. CEO of DanePork, Leo Groenvall, stresses that they do not plan to immediately carry out the expansion applied for.
DanePork, at first called Slagtergaarden St. Lihme A/S, is an independent, privately owned pig slaughterhouse situated near Vejle. It was established in 1989 and was approved by the EU in 1996. In 2001, the slaughterhouse was approved for exports to the US and Japan. DanePork employs approximately 140 dedicated employees.
(Source, Landbrugsavisen)

France

Charcuterie and football

Saïd Chabane, Head of the Charcuterie group Cosnelle based in the west of France (Sarthe department), is now the major shareholder of the football club, SCO Angers, that was in the French first league a few years ago. Charcuterie processor, Cosnelle, has a turnover of €55 million.

Madrange – end of story

Three months following the purchase of the cooked ham manufacturer, Madrange, the group Financière Turenne-Lafayette of Monique Piffaut re-baptised the company 'Limogeoise de Salaisons' (LDS). A €6-million programme of investments is now engaged and 137 permanent jobs will be removed from the Limoges sites and 102 interim contracts will not be renewed. Also, the pig meat boning plant will cease its activities. In the end, the ex-Madrange group will have lost €6 million in 2011.

Pork

If some people consider that prices should remained stable on Thursday at Plérin, others do not hesitate to think that an increase is possible. Everything will depend of the demand; offers are not expected to be higher. Abattoirs could hesitate due to the absence of additional public holidays for Christmas and New Year in France.

Cuts

It is no great surprise that the market is very calm before Christmas. Sales are regular but not very good. At the same time, retailers maintain the pressure on prices. Abattoirs will be very watchful for the next commercial negotiations for the promotions of January.

Germany

Market

As elsewhere, the market is calm before Christmas and the approaching holidays are not yet very noticeable in terms of meat sales. Filets are sold at slightly higher prices and loins are marketed a bit more quickly. Prices for meat for processing keep being subdued. Demand is expected to increase just briefly before the holidays.
(Source, AMI)

Import figures

Imports of meat and by-products into Germany have increased in volume by some seven per cent to 1.69 million tonnes and in value by 15 per cent to €4.15 billion between January and September 2011. Overall meat imports reached a value of about €5.1 billion and a volume of 2.03 million tonnes, of which meat products accounted for 17 per cent with the import volume having increased by 13 per cent to 343,500 tonnes. The pig meat sector accounted for nearly half of the overall imports with 99 per cent of the fresh and frozen pig meat imported (-2.6 per cent = 704,900 tonnes) originating from other EU member states.
(Source, fleischwirtschaft)

Label delayed

The first products carrying the Animal Welfare label developed jointly by VION, Coop Kiel and the German Association for Animal Protection (DTB) will only be hitting the Coop Kiel shelves by summer 2012. Norbert Barfuss, CEO of VION Food Germany, stated that the delayed launch was due to “not always the easiest of discussions” with the DTB.
(Source, topagrar)

Netherlands

Contingency plans

Agrarisch Dagblad reports that the main exporting Dutch agri-businesses, Friesland-Campina, Vion and Van Drie are preparing contingency plans in the case of serious financial trouble in the EU and further afield.

Weaner price on the way up

Weaner prices have shot up from €23 to €32 between weeks 42 and 48, reflecting a tightening of EU pork supplies.
(Source, Agrarisch Dagblad)

No maximum size for new pig units

Despite strong actions from lobbying groups – the latest involved people dressed as pigs having a mud bath in front of the Parliament in The Hague – and support from four small political parties, there is no appetite in the country to limit the size of pig units.
(Source, Agrarisch Dagblad)

Spain

Spanish courting COFCO

Rosa Agular, the Minister of Agriculture met the management of COFCO, the largest Chinese meat importer and a State-owned company. Spain is the fifth largest exporter of pork to China. The Minister offered to open a buying office for COFCO in Spain and invited the company to be guests of honour at Alimentaria.
(Source, Eurocarne)

The rise and rise of Vall Companys

The integrated company now produces 189,000 tonnes of pork (Patel, Frivall, Frimancha), 85,000 tonnes of poultry and 18,000 tonnes of beef. It has 1,900 associated farms under contract and employs 2,500 staff. It also owns one of the largest flour mills in Spain, giants feed mills, a logistics arms and stands as a manufacturer of veterinary products.
(Source, Vall Companys)

Republic of Ireland

Results of the June census

BPEX recently reported a surge of pig production in Ireland. This may only be due to higher productivity as the June census shows a drop of three per cent in the number of sows to 156,000. However, the five per cent increase in the numbers of maiden gilts seems to indicate a potential recovery.
(Source, Various).

Russia

ASF outbreaks in Orenburg oblast

After testing meat samples taken from pig corpses in several villages in Orenburg oblast, Rosselkhoznadzor veterinary officials detected the genetic material of the ASF virus in them. The total number of animals that died of ASF in this oblast is 34; 268 more were slaughtered to prevent the spread of ASF. Measures were taken by the local authorities to prevent the virus from spreading further. Quarantine was imposed on the territory of Totsky region of Orenburg oblast.

On the Russian-Kazakh border, disinfection barriers are built on nine border crossings in order to minimise the threat of ASF infection spreading to Kazakhstan. It should be mentioned that the deputy director of Rosselkhoznadzor and chief veterinary inspector of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Vlasov, suggests that the programme of fighting ASF should be managed by one of the vice prime ministers of the Russian Government, because in the process of the implementation of the programme, there is a need to coordinate work of different departments.
(Source, Rosselkhoznadzor)

Ukraine

Call for increase of import duties on pork

The Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation asked the Government to increase import duties on pork in order to protect domestic manufacturers. They asked to increase duties on the following kinds of pork: ‘other pork’ (the front side and its offal, Ukrainian Classification of Goods in external economic activity (UCGEEA) code: 0203291100), (loin and its offal, UCGEEA code: 0203291300), (rib with fat and its offal, UCGEEA code: 0203291500) from Brazil, Poland, Germany – from 10 per cent to 20 per cent; ‘frozen pig liver’ (UCGEEA code: 0206410000), ‘other sub products from domestic pigs’ from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland – from 12 per cent to 25 per cent; ‘pork fat and lard’ (UCGEEA code: 0209001100) from Poland, Germany and Netherlands – from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. According to the data provided by the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, during 2008-2010, the import of ‘other pork’ (the front side and its offal, loin and its offal, and rib with fat and its offal) increased by 41 per cent; import of ‘sub products’ increased by 63 per cent; imports of pork fat increased by 23 per cent.
(Source, PigUA.info)

Ukrainian pig breeding: November 2011 results

At the beginning of December 2011, the total number of pigs in Ukraine was 7,835,800 – 5.5 per cent or 455,900 pigs fewer than the same date in 2010. Against the backdrop of a general decrease in pig population, there was a positive tendency of pork production registered in November. In November, there were 40,200 tonnes of pigs in live weight bred in Ukraine, and 36,800 tonnes of them were slaughtered. Because of a seasonal price increase, the average pork price reached UAH17,134 (US$2,139) per ton.
(Source, National Statistic Committee)

Romania

Exports freed

Member States have unanimously given their go-ahead to a draft Decision tabled by the Commission that will authorse trade of Romanian pig meat to other EU Member States. This is the first time that Romania is authorised after its accession because of the classical swine fever (CSF) situation that has however largely improved in the last years. During 2011, in view of this favourable situation Romania has developed a strategy based on a ‘channelled system’ that would allow fresh pig meat and pig meat products from certain designated farms operating a common enhanced bio-security management system and only through selected slaughterhouses and meat establishments. This system has been fine-tuned during the last months and finally Romania has substantiated the favourable situation and the reliability of the ‘channelled system’.
(Source, EC)

Brazil

JBS posts loss

The world’s largest meat processor posted a loss of 67.5 million real (BRR; UK£23.8 million) in the third quarter, following a loss of BRR180.8 million (£63.7 million) in the second quarter, much of it related to losses incurred with its Pilgrim US chicken business. However, turnover of the UK pork business is up 12.3 per cent to US$867 million (£555 million).
(Source, Brazilian Meat Monitor)

Argentina

New pork promotion body?

The parliament is tabling a motion for the creation of the Instituto de Promoción de la Carne Porcina Argentina to promote Argentine pork at home and abroad.
(Source, Eurocarne)

Mexico

Agreement with China

Mexican producers’ associations have signed an accord of collaboration with China Meat Association. Mexico is in negotiations with AQSIQ.
(Source, Eurocarne)

US

Corn harvest revised up

The USDA has issued a new revised forecast for the corn harvest, an influential indicator of future feed price prices. With Canada, China and the EU also up on earlier forecasts, a record world corn harvest is expected.
(Source, USDA)

New Internet site regarding air pollution

Purdue and Michigan universities have a new portal to present a balanced view regarding livestock production and air pollution [click here].

Australia

L.E. Giles & Son's licence revoked

The Victoria abattoir has had its slaughtering licence revoked due to alleged breaches of animal welfare. Pigs must now travel much further to the other plants in the State. The business had operated for 60 years and was employing 34 people.

December 2011