World Hog news:

[mikey]

Thai pork price affected by Cambodia’s ban
[22 September 2010] Pork price in Thailand is likely to be pressured by Cambodia’s ban on pig imports from Thailand as this will increase domestic supply. Cambodia has halted pigs import from Thailand and Vietnam to safeguard the local industry. Thailand exports around 2000 pigs/month to Cambodia. Thailand’s Department of Internal Trade will meet today to discuss the pork price situation.

[mikey]

Work Starts on First Large-Scale Pig Complex
VIET NAM - Work has started on the country's first large-scale industrial-agricultural complex in Dong Nai province.



Construction of the Dong Nai Food Industry Corporation (Dofico) industrial-agricultural complex began in Xuan Loc district in Dong Nai province on 19 September, opening up new prospects for domestic agricultural production, reports Vietnam Business.

This is the country's first modern complex to be built oriented toward the commodity economy and with a self-contained manufacturing cycle meeting international standards.

The complex will serve as one of the venues through which farm produce from Dong Nai and its adjacent provinces can penetrate the world market, thus helping to promote the trademarks of hi-tech agricultural products.

The Dofico complex comprises five areas, for husbandry, cultivation, food processing, hi-tech agriculture and trade. It has a total investment of 1.96 trillion dong (VND) and is expected to be operational in five years.

On this occasion, the DOFICO company awarded VND3.55 billion to local schools in Xuan Loc and Thong Nhat districts.

Dofico is developing the 'agropark' with the Glon Group from France for the production and processing of livestock, according to AsianAgriBiz. The project covers more than 2,000 hectares. The construction will be done in two phases with the first one, worth VND1.4 trillion (US$70 million), due for completion in 2013. Once fully operational, the facility will supply up to one million pigs annually for processing into a variety of pork products for domestic and export markets.

[mikey]

Cambodia destroys pigs imported from Vietnam
[8 October 2010] Officials of Kandal province in Cambodia incinerated carcasses of 49 pigs that were imported live from Vietnam as they were found to carry the blue ear disease. Has Piseth, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Health and Production, said the pigs were confiscated by Muk Kampoul district police from a trader who had imported the pigs from Vietnam .  Several of the pigs died shortly after that. He said four of the 49 pigs were tested and found that they carried the disease, prompting the department to order officials and the police to burn them  to prevent the disease from infecting other pigs.

[mikey]

Hong Kong lifts ban on pork from South Korea
[11 October 2010] Hong Kong has removed its ban on South Korean pork imports, becoming the first state to do so since Seoul was declared free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). However, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said South Korean exporters still need to follow required quarantine procedures before shipping any pork products to Hong Kong. Outbound shipments of pork were halted in January when the country's first FMD case since 2002 was reported. Since regaining FMD-free status from the OIE, South Korea has been working to resume its pork exports also to Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

[mikey]

 Vietnam's small pig farms have an edge
[15 October 2010] Most smallpig farms in Vietnam can remain competitive if they continue to exploit their advantages over larger farms. These advantages, according to the outcome of a three-year research project, were the low labour costs and the ability to supply freshly slaughtered meat, which is still preferred by most Vietnamese diners over chilled or frozen meat from bigger piggeries. The research project was run by the Kenyan-based International Livestock Research Institute and funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. It said that smallholder pig producers played an important role in the economy as they supplied about 80% of Vietnam's pork. 
 
 
 

[mikey]

Small Pig Producers Bring Home the Bacon
VIET NAM - In Viet Nam, small pig farmers raising 10 or fewer animals near their village households can remain competitive with larger pig producers if they continue to exploit their advantages over larger farmers.



These advantages include their low labour costs and their ability to supply buyers with freshly slaughtered meat, a form most Vietnamese continue to prefer to the chilled or frozen meat from bigger piggeries.

These are the conclusions of a three-year research project led by the Kenyan-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

ACIAR's representative in Viet Nam, Geoff Morris, speaking at a final workshop of the project held in Hanoi on 5 October 2010, said that smallholder pig producers, who supply about 80 per cent of the pork marketed in Viet Nam, play a big role in the nation's economy. The research project identified policies that would help Viet Nam's many small pig farmers to raise their incomes and remain competitive in the face of growing imports of pork and official support for larger piggeries.

Another advantage small producers have over large ones is that the former spend less on feed for their animals. Lucy Lapar, an economist with ILRI, said that while feed accounts for two-thirds of the costs of raising pigs at small piggeries, this was much lower than at bigger farms because small operators tend to feed their pigs by-products from their own crops and to let their pigs forage. Bigger operators must buy relatively expensive, industrially processed, feed.

Household-based pig production generates gross margins ranging from 4,000–15,000 Vietnamese dong (US$0.21–0.78 based on current exchange rates) per kilogram liveweight of pig produced. These are good indicators of returns to household labour and comparable to the current daily minimum wage of about 22,000 VND ($1.15). Among those employed in small-scale pig production are women and many others who would otherwise remain jobless.

Conducting a consumer survey of 1,650 households to investigate the demand for pork, the researchers found that it accounts for 40 per cent of household expenditure on meat and that fresh pork remains preferable to chilled or processed meat.

'The good news is that smallholder pig producers are highly competitive in producing fresh pork,' said Lapar. The bad news, she says, is that, compared to large-scale pig producers, most small producers in the country have to deal with poor genetic stock, low-quality feed, animal illnesses, and insufficient market information and policy support.

Pham Van Duy, from the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry's Livestock Department, said that it is likely to become increasingly difficult for the nation's four million pig-raising households to continue to meet the growing demand for pork in terms of both increasing their quantity and quality, both of which are being demanded by the country's consumers. According to Viet Nam's General Statistics Office, the country's pork sales have steadily increased, from 1.5 million tonnes in 2001 to 2.9 million in 2009, with 27.6 million pigs now being raised in the country.

This smallholder pig research project, Improving the competitiveness of pig producers in an adjusting Viet Nam market, was carried out in Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City and six of Viet Nam's provinces from 2007 to 2010. Partners in the project include the Centre for Agricultural Policy – Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development, the International Food Policy Research Institute, Oxfam and the University of Queensland.

[mikey]

Super Pea in the Making
AUSTRALIA - A new high yielding, disease resistant field pea released by Australia's Pork Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for commercial sowing next year offers pork producers a reliable protein source.



Previously designated PRL131, the new variety, CRC Walana, is named after an aboriginal weapon, continuing the naming tradition of Yarrum and Maki, field pea varieties already released for Australia's northern region.



Steve Moore, University of Sydney, Bernard Hart, Waratah Seed Company grower member of Junee, NSW, Adrian Russell, Plant Research New Zealand and Dr Ray King, Pork CRC Program One Manager, at a trial site of the new field pea CRC Walana, formerly known as PRL131The Pork CRC has applied for Plant Breeders Rights for CRC Walana in Australia and has licensed Waratah Seed Company Ltd to market the variety.

According to Pork CRC Program One Manager, Dr Ray King, CRC Walana is resistant to powdery mildew and pea seed borne mosaic virus, has useful tolerance to bean leaf roll virus and is specifically suited to short season planting in northern NSW and southern Queensland.

"CRC Walana not only satisfies pork producers, but its large, spherical, white seed can also be eligible for lucrative human consumption and splitting markets," Dr King said.

In extensive field trials in northern NSW and south east Queensland, CRC Walana outyielded Yarrum and Maki, varieties recently released by The University of Sydney field pea breeding program and Plant Research New Zealand Ltd (PRNZL).

The original cross was by Adrian Russell of PRNZL and then selected for release by Steve Moore, University of Sydney, with funding from the Pork CRC, which supports the New Zealand and Narrabri, NSW-based field pea programs as part of its innovative and successful feed grain breeding programme.

The Pork CRC programme successfully released Maki in 2009 and recently released the triticale, Berkshire and the barley, Shepherd, also for northern Australia.

Dr King said the programme enhanced the commercial production of cereals and pulses with high yield, cost-effective agronomy and acceptable nutritional attributes for pigs.

"The Pork CRC is committed to identifying high yielding field pea varieties for northern and southern regions and encourages farmers to grow them for the Australian pork industry in these regions," Dr King added.

[mikey]

Forces Joined to Bring Home the Bacon
AUSTRALIA - The Brisbane Smallgoods Company (BSC) will have its brand, 'Aussie Farmer’s Choice' rindless middle bacon rashers, sporting the Australian PorkMark logo, in almost one thousand additional retail outlets across Australia.



BSC Director, Adam Purcell said: “The bacon packaging will display the hot pink Australian PorkMark logo incorporated with the slogan 'No imported pork... 100% Australian Pork'.”

“With major smallgoods processors using mainly overseas pork, I’m proud to be a small Australian owned company who supports solely Australian pork producers. I only hope the Australian public can support my company and the Australian farmers who have worked so very hard to produce this product.”

“For some time now, Australian pork producers and consumers have been battling ambiguous labelling laws. The hot pink Australian PorkMark logo is a guarantee to consumers that what is in the packet is 100 per cent Australian home-grown and manufactured pork,” Mr Purcell said.

BSC have been using the PorkMark since 2009 and were the first Queensland company to join the programme.

Every week, more than $10 million worth of pork imports totalling over 2,600 tonnes of frozen pork arrives by boat in Australia. This amount of subsidised imported pork equates to around 70 per cent of Australia’s ham, bacon and small-goods consumption.

Australian Pork Limited CEO Andrew Spencer said: “Consumer research has shown that 96 per cent of Australians would prefer to buy Australian-grown food if they could identify it. Consumers do this in order to support Australian farmers (97 per cent) with over 92 per cent of Australians believing that Australian meat is fresher, safer and better quality. Current country of origin labelling regulations makes it difficult for consumers to identify Australian pork versus imported pork.”

“Commonly used terms such as ‘Made in Australia’ can be used on products that can contain imported meat and this can become very confusing for consumers. The pink Australian PorkMark is your guarantee of Australian origin.”

There is 265 butchers and small goods manufacturers Australia-wide that are licensed to display the PorkMark logo on their products.

[mikey]

How Stress Affects Pig Meat Quality
DENMARK - Researchers have found how stress affects the pig's meat quality at the cellular level.



Pig stress that occurs in connection with slaughtering can affect the metabolism in muscle cells, which in turn can have impact on meat quality, reports the University of Aarhus.

When pigs are stressed in connection with the slaughtering process, it can affect meat quality. Scientists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences have identified metabolites that could potentially be used as markers for slaughter stress.

A pig's last hours can be a rather stressful time. The pig finds itself in strange surroundings, it meets strange pigs, goes for a drive, and is then herded into an abattoir. Stress in a pig destined for slaughter can affect its meat quality. That is not news in itself, but the effect on the cellular level has not been revealed – at least not until now.

Postdoc Ida Krestine Straadt from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University has identified metabolites that can potentially be used as markers for the stress effects that occur in connection with slaughtering.

She cultured muscle cells in the laboratory under conditions that correspond to the stress situations to which a finisher pig is subjected.. She subjected the cells to heat or to lack of oxygen. Heat stress can occur in connection with transportation and handling of pigs while lack of oxygen can arise in connection with sedation prior to slaughter.

Dr Straadt explained: "My studies showed that changes occur in the metabolites when there is heat stress or lack of oxygen in cultured muscle cells."

She found a decrease in the amino acids alanine, glutamate, glutamine, aspartate and phenylalanine with heat and oxygen depletion stress and an increase in the production of the metabolite, lactic acid. Lack of oxygen also resulted in an increase in the metabolite glycerol-3-phosphate.

The results can give an impression of the effects of stress that can occur in connection with slaughtering of pigs.

"The findings in my studies with cells correspond very nicely to results in another study in our department in which live pigs were stressed," said Dr Straadt.

In this experiment the pigs ran on a treadmill. Various stress parameters were measured immediately after, one hour after and three hours after the exercise. When the pigs were slaughtered, their meat quality was examined and related to the stress measurements. The results indicate that even though the pigs were stressed they quickly got back on track with regard to certain measured meat quality traits.

"Meat from the pigs that were sampled immediately after slaughter had a higher water loss than meat from pigs that had had the chance to rest for either one or three hours," she said.

This means that meat from pigs that have been stressed immediately prior to slaughter has an increased risk of being less juicy. If the pigs have the chance to rest after the drive to the slaughterhouse and before slaughtering, then this risk is reduced. A rest does not, however, fix another of the stress parameters, namely meat toughness.

"Meat from the stressed pigs was tougher than that from non-stressed pigs whether or not they rested after running," explained Dr Straadt about the other study in the department.

The relations shown between stress measured at the cellular level and in live pigs to meat quality can possibly be used as markers to indicate if a pig has been stressed.

Dr Straadt added: "Perhaps it would be possible to see if the pig has been stressed somewhere along the way in the process, either in the piggery, during transportation or at the slaughterhouse. If awareness of the problem could be heightened and there were methods to measure if the pigs had been stressed, then it would be easier to do something about the problem."

The muscle cell project was carried out in collaboration between the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Health at Aarhus University and was funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Technology and Production. The project with the live pigs on the treadmill was financed by the EU project Q-PorkChains.

[mikey]

Where’s the Beef in Raising Pork Prices?
MALAYSIA - Perak pork sellers have denied creating an artificial shortage of the meat.



Kinta District Pork Sellers and Butchers Association chairman Kew Mook Choy said pork sellers were already suffering from poor business because of high prices.

“People are consuming less pork because it is considered expensive meat,” he said.

The Star reports that according to Mr Kew, the ex-farm price of live pigs was RM7.90 per kg while its retail price was between RM13 and 14 per kg.

“In the last five years, we have seen a drastic drop in pork consumption from about 900 pigs to 500 pigs daily.

“Our members used to open for business six days a week. Now we are lucky if we get to operate four days in a week,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Mr Kew was responding to Perak Veterinary Services director Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam statement that the group had used a recent ban on pig movement from Penang as an excuse to push for a price increase.

Mr Kew last week told a press conference that the ban, which started on 25 October following the detection of foot-and-mouth disease at a Tasek Gelugor farm in Penang, would create a shortage of the meat and cause prices to go up.

This was, however, denied by Dr Quaza, who said Perak had more than enough supply to meet the local demand.

Perak Livestock Farmers Association chairman Tung Hong Chai had also concurred, saying that association members had 470,000 head of pigs and enough even to cater for the Klang Valley market.

Mr Kew said they highlighted the matter because they do not want prices to escalate.

“To accuse us of using it as an excuse to increase prices is ridiculous because by increasing prices, we will be breaking our own rice bowls.”

[mikey]

Costa Rica - Increase in Pork Consumption Encourages Producers' Sector
Pork consumption is increasing rapidly in Costa Rica, according to Illeana Ramirez in the latest GAIN report from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.


Report Highlights
The growth in Costa Rica's pork consumption is partly due to producers' work to improve meat quality. However, there is an excellent market niche to export fine cuts such as pork legs during the second semester of the year.

General Information
Increase in pork consumption encourages the pork producers' sector in Costa Rica In 2009, the annual per-capita consumption of pork increased from 8.9kg in 2004 to 11.6kg – 33 per cent more – in Costa Rica. Last year was the best of the last five years although the market faced the influenza A H1N1 (also known as swine influenza).

The Chamber of Swine Producers invested significantly in publicity and the negative effects were curtailed to only one week. Moreover, the campaigns positively affected consumers and a rise in consumption was seen across the country.

The swine producers report that in 2009, in order to meet domestic demand, there were 45,000 pigs slaughtered per month. However, in 2010, this number increased to 55,000 pigs per month.

This growth in the Costa Rica's pork consumption is partly due to producers' work to improve meat quality. Years ago, the value of the animal was quantified by the quantity of fat. Over time, consumer preferences have changed and now consumers expect lean cuts of pork.

Another interesting aspect of the Costa Rican market is that traditionally consumers eat more pork ribs, pork chops and pork roast during the first six months of the year and from July to December, the demand is focused on the pork leg and fine cuts. As a result of the demand for very specific pork cuts, in the last semester of 2010 the Costa Rican pork industry preferred to import the particular cuts and not slaughtering pigs, which helps avoid the need to freeze cuts that are not currently in demand.

Domestic consumption in Costa Rica may be higher but price data is not monitored closely. The price to the producer has kept its value as 1,578 colon (CRC) per kilo (US$3.10/kg) and for the butcher, it is approximately CRC1,720 per kilo ($3.37) but the sales prices could reach up to 150 per cent. An excellent niche market exists in Costa Rica for fine pork cuts, particularly pork legs.

November 2010

[mikey]

South Korea Culls Diseased Animals
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea has began culling more than 55,000 animals in an attempt to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth (FMD)disease in the country.


The culling began on Thursday in areas near the southeastern city of Andong where the first cases were reported from a pig farm three days earlier.

All 84 livestock markets in the country have been shut down to prevent spreading of the animal disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as pigs, cows and sheep.

Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that all farms within a 20-kilometre radius of the affected livestock had been prohibited from selling or removing any of their animals from the area.

The ministry of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries said it will supply farms with emergency funds of $15m.

[mikey]

Contaminated Pig Tails Seized in Far East
RUSSIA - Russia's agriculture health watchdog has seized 25 tons of listeria-contaminated pig tails in the Far East, Rosselkhoznadzor aide, Vitaly Salenko, said earlier today.


RIA Novosti reports that the unique culinary delicacy was shipped from Germany.

"The entire meat lot was addressed to an individual businessman in Khabarovsk and was to be sold in one of the city's supermarket chains," Mr Salenko said.

Listeria is a bacterium that causes listeriosis, a potentially lethal infection found in plants and some animal products that manifests itself as meningitis and can lead to the death of unborn children.

Listeriosis carries a 25 per cent mortality rate in humans, in comparison with salmonella, which carries a 1 per cent death rate.

[Mustang Sally Farm]

Pork Prices Going Up by 35 Cents a Kilo in Cyprus
CYPRUS - Pork will cost 35 cents more per kilo from 10 January, pig farmers and pork managers’ group Cypork Public announced yesterday.


Cypork, which covers around three quarters of pork production in Cyprus, said the new hikes were down to the 5.0 per cent VAT on foodstuff that comes into effect on Monday, as well as new increases in grain prices.

Cypork Director George Neophytou yesterday explained that the farmers would in fact be selling the pork five cents dearer, but the price on the market would increase by 10 cents a kilo.

“The increase is necessary due to the increase in grain prices and covers just a small part of the damage suffered by farmers,” said Mr Neophytou.

He added that consumers would be buying pork from their butchers from Monday onwards, at 35 cents more per kilo – 10 cents for the grain increase and 25 cents from the VAT hike.

The new wave of increases in grain prices was inevitable and due to international factors, Cy pork said.

Cyprus Mail reports that the biggest grain suppliers – Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary – were affected by a severe drought last summer, which destroyed millions of hectares of grain crops and led to an increase in prices on the international market.

On 12 December 2009, the price of soybean meal was €360 per tonne, while on 23 December 2010, this had increased to €372 per tonne. Maize cost €163 per tonne in November 2009 and €232 in December 2010. And the price of barley shot up to €246 per tonne last December, from €133 just a month earlier.

“Cypork acts in a completely responsible manner and has imposed the least possible price increase,” the group announced. “We are expecting all those involved in the supply chain – meat traders and butchers – to act with the same social responsibility at a time of economic crisis so that consumers suffer only the minimum increases in meat prices.”

[Mustang Sally Farm]

South Korea Avoids German Pork, Poultry Imports
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea is preventing imports of German pork and poultry products from reaching consumers because of health concerns over a cancer-causing chemical.


The government said on Friday that authorities have temporarily suspended all quarantine inspections of the products as a precaution following reports that potentially dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered in eggs, pork and poultry products in Germany.

According to JakartaGlobe, the government said the measure _ which is not a formal import ban _ began Wednesday and will be in place until the safety of German pork and poultry products is secured.

Dioxins are contaminants that typically result from industrial combustion and other chemical processes. Exposure to dioxins at high levels is linked to increased incidence of cancer.