World Hog news:

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NZ Ministry Allows Review of Pork Import Rules
NEW ZEALAND - The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has granted an independent review of provisional Import Health Standard for pork.



The Director-General of MAF, Murray Sherwin, has agreed to the New Zealand Pork Industry Board's request for an independent review of the provisional Import Health Standards for Pig Meat and Pig Meat Products issued by MAF Biosecuirty New Zealand (MAFBNZ) in April 2009.

The Import Health Standards were developed after several years of consultation and analysis. The standards would permit importation of consumer-ready cuts of uncooked pork from countries where the disease Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is present. MAFBNZ considers the risk of introduction of PPRS will be effectively managed through the application of the proposed Import Health Standard. PPRS has not been found in New Zealand.

Section 22A of the Biosecurity Act 1993 has provision for an independent panel to be formed to review whether, in developing an import health standard, there has been sufficient regard to the scientific evidence about which a person consulted under §22(6) has raised a significant concern.

MAF expects to release a draft Terms of Reference and seek nominations for the independent review panel before the end of August.

The review panel is expected to report its findings and recommendations to the Director General within 90 days of commencing work, however, it may request extensions if necessary.

Final decisions about the import health standards rest with the Director General after he has reviewed the panel’s report and recommendations.

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No End in Sight to High, Volatile Feed Grain Prices
AUSTRALIA - Prices of feed grains are expected to rise and become more volatile, according to a report by industry experts.



The future for feed grain producers looks bright with demand remaining high and the constant uncertainties of supply set to keep prices above historical averages, according to a recently released Rabobank report. However as the global economy recovers, and in a deregulated Australian wheat export market, there is likely to be greater volatility in feed grain prices, the report says.

Report author, Rabobank Australia analyst, Adam Tomlinson, says that although demand has slowed in 2009 due to the global economic downturn, there are a number of factors that should sustain feed grain prices.

"The demand for animal protein globally remains at high levels. The growing world population and rising incomes in developing countries has led to greater demand for animal proteins and increasing global animal production for food," he says.

"We expect feed grain prices to remain above the long-term average and to track sideways during 2009 leading into 2010. However, a supply shock or dramatic rise in global energy prices could change this outlook to the upside. In saying that though, we do not expect that the record grain prices experienced in 2008 will be repeated in 2009."

US ethanol demand to continue to impact global feed grain prices
The US government's increasing renewable energy targets have seen more corn being processed for ethanol, which has contributed to the overall growth in demand and put upward pressure on corn prices. Globally, corn is the major feed grain and so any increase in demand or disruption to supply has a major impact on global feed grain prices, the report says.

"Biofuel mandates in the US have encouraged major developments in the corn market, with knock-on effects for other feed grains. In 2008, over 90 million tonnes of US corn was processed for ethanol, exceeding the amount of global corn production that was sold into export markets for the first time in history," Mr Tomlinson says.

"The strength of the relationship between the demands of the feed grain and biofuel industries has seen a stronger correlation between US corn futures contract prices and world oil prices. The stronger connection between crude oil and biofuels will further add to demand for grain. This is expected to keep upward pressure on international feed grain prices in the medium term."

Supply and price volatility remain key challenges
"The major challenge facing the domestic feed grain industry in Australia is the unpredictable nature of the Australian climate and the impact of drought years on feed grain production and prices," Mr Tomlinson says.

In 2006/07, for example, Australia experienced widespread drought conditions that halved crop production.

Mr Tomlinson says: "The big issue for Australian feed grain end-users is securing a consistent feed grain supply at the right price for use for livestock.

"Australia is a dominant exporter of grain with international benchmark grain prices influencing domestic grain prices. To overcome variable international grain prices and unpredictable Australian production in a deregulated wheat export market, it is most likely that feed grain end-users will need to manage feed grain input and marketing decisions by carrying grain inventory or taking forward positions more actively."

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H1N1 Hit Hard but Zhongpin Reports Better Results
CHINA - Zhongpin Inc., a leading meat and food processing company in the People's Republic of China, has reported higher revenues, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter (Q2) 2009 and reaffirmed its prior guidance for the full year 2009.



Second Quarter 2009 highlights
Revenues at Zhongpin Inc. increased 17.7 per cent in the second quarter 2009 to $161.8 million from $137.5 million in the second quarter 2008. Net income increased 25.9 per cent to $10.7 million from $8.5 million over the same period.

Diluted earnings per share increased 24.1 per cent to $0.36 in the second quarter 2009 from $0.29 in the second quarter 2008.

The downward trend of hog and pork prices during the second quarter turned upward in June and prices have continued at higher levels in July and early August.

Prior guidance for 2009 is reaffirmed.

Zhongpin Inc. added that construction of a new pork processing plant in Tianjin began in April.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer's comments
Xianfu Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zhongpin Inc., said: "The second quarter was unusual for us, primarily due to the temporary fear consumers had about getting the A(H1N1) flu from pork products, which the world's health agencies have confirmed is not possible."

In late April 2009, the A(H1N1) flu was reported in Mexico, the United States, Europe, and other countries. In June 2009, the A(H1N1) flu was reported in China, which adversely affected the country’s pork industry, as it has in other countries throughout the world. Pork sales significantly declined in China due to consumers’ fear of contracting the disease through pork consumption. The Chinese government took steps to ease the fear by educating consumers that eating pork will not cause the flu and by renaming the virus as the A(H1N1) flu – the same identification used by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – in an effort to resume the consumption of pork products and to protect the hog breeding and pork industries. With these efforts, the consumption of pork in China recovered in the mid-May, approximately two weeks after the initial reports of the A(H1N1) flu in North America.

Pricing and tonnage
Hog and pork prices decreased sequentially about 20 per cent during the second quarter from the first quarter 2009, primarily because the supply of hogs was higher than the market demand. The imbalance in supply and demand was due primarily to three factors:

an oversupply of hogs
to a lesser extent, the seasonal decline in market demand for pork that is typically associated with warmer weather, and
the global outbreak of the A(H1N1) flu virus in April 2009, which temporarily scared consumers and adversely affected the hog and pork industries.
Mr Zhu said: "During the second quarter, with the disruptions in the market, we acted to minimize the effect on the company and maximize our potential benefit from the temporary price and volume declines by (1) increasing our sales in our highest gross margin products, which are prepared pork products; (2) extending payment terms to encourage sales, especially in prepared pork products with the highest margins; (3) purchasing more hogs as the prices declined to increase our inventory of frozen pork because we assumed that prices were temporarily depressed and would recover, which should give us higher gross profits as we sell from lower-cost inventory at higher prices, and (4) sustaining our market and capacity expansions and research and development programme.

"Hog and pork prices began to increase in June and have continued at higher levels in July and early August 2009.

"Pork prices were also affected in June by the Chinese government, which bought frozen pork to add to the country's national pork reserves. The government increased the national pork reserves to stabilise the price and protect the interests of hog breeding farmers. The government's purchasing policy is based on the relationship of the price of hogs to the price of corn, the principal hog feed. The government authorised certain qualified enterprises, including Zhongpin, to acquire hogs and to slaughter, process and stock them as frozen pork. That purchasing has tended to support higher hog and pork prices so that the market price of hogs was above the break-even point for farmers. Since the end of the second quarter of 2009, hog and pork prices have increased about 10 per cent.

"For the second half of 2009, we continue to expect steady growth in the sales of our pork and pork products. The recent decline in the price of live hogs has caused a number of hog breeders to terminate their breeding operations, which we expect will reduce the oversupply of live hogs during the second half of 2009. We anticipate a change in the supply of live hogs, which we expect will cause prices to stabilise and to begin increasing in the second half of 2009."

Market and capacity expansions continue
Mr Zhu continued: "This year, we are continuing to implement our strategic plan to sustain the growth we have experienced in the last five years.

"For example, in January 2009, we began operating our new chilled and frozen pork plant in eastern Henan province. It has an annual capacity of approximately 80,000 metric tons. In April 2009, we started processing in our new vegetable and fruit facility in Changge, It has an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons.

"Over the next 12 months, we expect to continue to expand our distribution channel and develop new markets. Through our aggressive marketing campaign, we also expect to increase our brand awareness and customer loyalty. In addition, we intend to streamline further our supply chain to create a unified, safe, and efficient cold-chain logistics system.

"Research and development is important for our continuing success. Working with China Agriculture University, we have established the Henan Province Prepared Meat Products Technology Research Center, which has been certified by the Technology Bureau of Henan Province. This research center will increase our research and development capability.

"We also have invested in training and human resources development for our employees so that we can sustain rapid and healthy growth while maintaining an attractive profit margin.

Outlook for pork demand in the expanding Chinese economy
Mr Zhu said: "As a result of the education consumers have received about the recent A(H1N1) virus, they increasingly are focusing on food safety, which highlights the importance of high-quality products and stringent testing procedures. Highest quality and stringent testing are the foundation of Zhongpin's modernised, safe and hygienic processing facilities.

"With China's live hog prices and pork prices beginning to recover during the latter part of the second quarter, we expect that the upward trend is likely to continue in the cooler second half of 2009, when pork consumption typically increases. Further supporting that outlook is China's economy, which is expected to grow at higher rates than in the first half of 2009.

"Pork is China's primary source of protein. We believe the outlook for the long-term potential of China's meat processing industry remains very positive. We plan to continue to expand our distribution and processing plants to serve this market opportunity and build a leading brand position in the pork category.

"We expect to increase our market share in the meat and meat products segment of our target markets in the second half of this year.

"Based on our operating results for the first half of 2009, we remain confident in our ability to reach our forecast results for the full year 2009 and are maintaining our prior guidance."

Guidance
Zhongpin's full year 2009 guidance for revenues continues to be in the range of $780 million to $810 million, with a gross margin of approximately 12.0 per cent, net profit margin of at least six per cent and diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.50 to $1.63, assuming common shares used to calculate diluted earnings per share (EPS) are 30.7 million shares. This guidance also assumes that hog and pork prices increase about 10 per cent during the third quarter and stabilise at that new level in the fourth quarter.

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Cherkizovo Sees Poultry, Pork Sales Rise
RUSSIA - Cherkizovo OJSC, one of the country's leading integrated and diversified meat producers, has issued its trading results for the first six months of 2009. Sales volumes were up for poultry meat and pork compared to the same period of 2008, and average prices increased for all divisions.



Poultry division
Total sales volumes in the poultry segment in the first six months of 2009 gained five per cent to approximately 92,840 tonnes compared to approximately 88,350 tonnes in the first six months of 2008.

Prices for Cherkizovo poultry sales increased by 16 per cent from 62.46 rubles (RUR) per kilo in the first six months of 2008 to RUR 72.32 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT). As a result of the 38 per cent depreciation of the ruble over this period, prices in dollar terms decreased by 15 per cent from $2.61 per kilo in the first six months of 2008 to $2.19 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

Pork division
Sales volumes in the pork division in the first six months of 2009 increased eight per cent to approximately 21,250 tonnes compared to approximately 19,680 tonnes for the same period of 2008.

In the first six months of 2009, prices for pork in Russia increased in ruble terms by 23 per cent from RUR 61.22 per kilo in the first half 2008 to RUR 75.41 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT). In dollar terms, prices decreased by 11 per cent from $2.56 per kilo live weight in the first six months of 2008 to $2.28 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

Meat Processing division
In the meat processing division, the company continued to see decreased sales volumes of lower-priced, lower-margin products and this – together with lower consumption in the regions of Russia due to the challenging economic environment – affected the performance of the division. Sales volumes were lower by 14 per cent to approximately 61,550 tonnes in the first six months of 2009 from approximately 71,820 in the first six months of 2008.

Average prices increased by 17 per cent from RUR 95.07 in the first half of 2008 to RUR 111.43 in the first six months of 2009 (excluding VAT). Segment prices in dollar terms decreased by 15 per cent from $3.97 in the first half of 2008 to $3.37 in the same period of 2009 (excluding VAT).

Commenting on the performance Sergei Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group said: "Despite the challenging economic conditions and lower consumer spending in the first half year, we saw favourable ruble pricing and sales trends for our products. We remain cautiously optimistic about consumption patterns and pricing trends for our products for the rest of the year."

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Pig Breeders Feeling a Case of the Jitters
MUMBAI, INDIA - Pigs have always been outcasts. The hungry scavengers have been loathed by religions, sects and rulers for thousands of years. But none could prevent mankind from eating bacons and sausages every morning - except for swine flu.



The raging swine flu epidemic has spelt doom for pig breeders across the country with demand for pork falling a steep 50 per cent over the past two months. Prices have slid as much as Rs 35 a kilo from Rs 100 over the last couple of weeks, even as animal husbandry officials are crying hoarse that swine flu is not contractable eating pork.

"There is no link, whatsoever, between H1N1 (swine flu) virus and pork. The World Health Organisation too has clarified that swine flu has got nothing to do with pigs. There has been only two cases of pigs catching flu - one each in Argentina and Canada. Both the pigs died after contacting the virus from their human handlers," said a senior livestock health official of Animal Husbandry Department, New Delhi.

But pork-lovers still have their reservations ordering a plate of hot ‘n’ tangy pork vindaloo or a few sausages from their neighbourhood eatery. "There is a sharp downfall in demand right from April. At the behest of local authorities, we closed down our farm last week. As of now, we only have small breeding stock," said Balasaheb Jadhav, proprietor of the Pune-based Mayur Piggery Farm.

Pig breeding is an important vocation in rural Andhra Pradesh, north-eastern states (especially Meghalaya), interior Maharashtra, south Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, reports The Economic Times. While pork is not exported in a major way, it is the staple food (and easy replacement to the more exotic-but-light chicken) for many in the country. A full-grown pig (aged 10 months and above) is more of a ‘cash cow’ for breeders. Fully grown pigs yield about 140 kg of meat and are generally sold at about Rs 100 per kg.

"Prices have come down sharply; now we charge only Rs 70 for kg. But being a wholesaler, our orders are fairly the same," said G Ranga Prabhu, a breeder in Theni, Tamil Nadu.

According to Genes Kalathil, owner of Kalathil Frozen Meat Products in Kottayam, Kerala, people are preferring chicken, beef (buffalo meat) and mutton to pork. "Pork is an inseparable fare in traditional Kerala Christian marriages. But with swine flu doing the rounds, people are opting for chicken and beef dishes," Mr Kalathil said.

Pig breeders in other parts of the country are also realigning their farm models to make more space for chicken. Many have already converted their pig-sty space to rooster coups to make good the loss. "This is the only way farmers who have taken loans can survive. Farmers are offloading pig stocks at record low prices to reduce loss," Mr Jadhav of Mayur Piggery Farm said. According to husbandry department officials, there are several farmers in the country who have taken loans in the range of Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh to start small-sized pig farms.

While the rural poor lives in the illusory fear of catching swine flu from pork, the urbane affluent class still finds delectable taste in pork. "There are no suspected or proven implications between eating pork or red meat and the swine flu virus. Our guests continue to enjoy bacon and sausages for breakfast each morning and our supply orders remain unchanged," said Christopher Newbery, general manager, The Leela Kempinski, Mumbai. The Leela — like most five-star hotels — import pork from overseas.

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Red Meat Production Down, but Chicken Up
AUSTRALIA - The number of cattle, sheep, and pigs sent to the abattoir dropped by up to 30,000 head in the June quarter.



Concerns have been expressed by some parts of industry that the global financial crisis is hitting red meat sales.

There are also some fears that a growing number of consumers are turning away from red meat because of the emissions agriculture produces.

It's unclear whether these ABS figures prove anything, ABC, but there's no doubt that while red meat killings are down, chicken slaughter numbers are up.

The number of chickens slaughtered in the June quarter rose by more than 500,000 to almost 121 million.

Meanwhile, cattle slaughters fell by 30,000 head to 1.9 million.

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NZPork: Canadian Pork Support ‘Subsidies in Drag’
NEW ZEALAND - The Canadian government’s $100 million support for their ailing pork industry is essentially subsidies in drag New Zealand Pork said.



"The Canadian government announced its support package over the weekend which will mean cheap subsidised pork will make its way to New Zealand undermining our local industry," said New Zealand Pork Chief Executive Sam McIvor.

"And we’re not talking about small amounts. New Zealand already imports 200,000 kg of Canadian pork a week – pork that can be produced using growth hormones and other standards of production – including animal welfare controls – that are not up to New Zealand standards," said Mr McIvor.

"All that the support package will mean is that more of this imported pork will end up in bacon, ham and small goods in the shops and on the menus in restaurants – with most New Zealand consumers none the wiser," he said.

The key, said Mr McIvor, is in the labelling.

"Consumers have said they want to buy New Zealand grown product so it’s time that retailers and processors clearly identified that product so that consumers can choose."

"New Zealand Pork provides free "100 per cent New Zealand" pork, bacon and ham labels for New Zealand grown products so there’s no excuse," said Mr McIvor.

While consumers are being asked to buy New Zealand grown product, Government also has a role to play.

"We’re being asked to step well beyond the welfare standards in Canada – and other countries –but their products continue to flow in here without challenge. It’s the local producer who’s paying the price for being welfare-minded and using sustainable, hormone free production methods when Canadian producers are not."

"Then there is the potential reduction in biosecurity standards for pork being proposed by Government which should stop simply because of the increase in risk of the introduction of crippling exotic diseases."

Getting behind the local industry, said Mr McIvor, made economic sense too.

"For every $1 paid to a New Zealand pig farmer another $1.97 goes to the local economy. But a dollar of imported pork only contributes another 78 cents to the local economy.

"It is simply a no brainer to support our local industry," said Mr McIvor.

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Pork Plummets as US Exports Dive
GLOBAL - Pork, the fastest-growing US meat export of the past decade, is sick with the H1N1 virus.



Hog futures, the second-worst commodity investment of 2009, may fall 33 per cent by yearend from 44.65 cents a pound on 14 August. US exports plunged 20 per cent in the first half and are heading for the first annual decline since 1990 after the H1N1 outbreak in April led to import restrictions in China and Russia. Tyson Foods Inc idled slaughterhouses, and US hog farmers haven't been profitable in a year.

H1N1 will contribute to an 11 per cent drop in global pork trade this year, even after scientists said the meat is safe to eat, United Nations data show. Slumping exports, the global recession and improvements in breeding methods left US inventories in June at a record high level for the month.

"What do we do with all these hogs?" said David Kruse, a commodity trading adviser at CommStock Investments Inc in Royal, Iowa.

"The industry is just not structured to modify production in response to reduced demand. The industry is basically structured to go broke. It will produce hogs until it runs out of money."

After falling last week to the lowest price since November 2002, hog futures may average 30 cents to 32 cents a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in November because of unwanted supply, said Glenn Grimes, a livestock economist at the University of Missouri in Columbia who's followed the industry for more than 50 years.

Farmers are losing $30 to $35 on every pig they sell this month and may not make money until May, Grimes said. Producers have been unprofitable for 20 of the 22 months through July, and more than 5,000 of them may need to exit the business, he said. Only then would the breeding herd shrink by the 10 per cent needed to spark a turnaround, he said.

"Some producers have basically told us that they are going to liquidate, in some cases parts of their herds and in other cases maybe their entire herds," said Gary Machan, the vice-president of pork procurement at Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson, which buys pigs from about 6,000 farms. "We expect that will continue here in the near term as well, because of the economic conditions they are experiencing."

Falling demand is creating a downward spiral as meatpackers cut slaughter rates, leaving animals stuck on farms where they gain more weight and produce more meat. On Aug 8, pigs were more than 4.5 kilograms heavier on average than a year earlier, US Department of Agriculture data show.

The weight gains are the biggest year-over-year increase ever. Pork inventories were already 9.2 per cent larger in June than a year earlier at 578.8 million pounds, USDA data show.

Cheap meat
Consumers may lead a rebound by taking advantage of the lowest wholesale prices since January 2003 to switch from more expensive beef and chicken, said John Lawrence, a livestock economist at Iowa State University in Ames.

Retail ham prices are down 2.5 per cent this year to $2.37 a pound in July, while chicken breasts rose 1.1 per cent to $3.32 a pound and beef steak sold for $5.289 a pound, a decrease of 1.6 per cent, Labor Department data showed on 14 August.

Overseas sales may lift prices as import restrictions ease. Russia, the fourth-largest buyer of US pork in 2008, lifted H1N1-related bans on 12 of 13 states as of 19 July. South Korea resumed imports of live hogs from North America on 12 August.

Some export declines may be permanent. Russia and China, the world's largest consumer, are boosting domestic herds, Lawrence said. Imports from the US fell 38 per cent in Russia this year and 73 per cent in China, USDA data show.

China surplus
"China doesn't seem to have a lot of interest in pork imports," said Guo Huiyong, an analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Ltd in Beijing. "The domestic market has a supply glut and the prices have slumped."

The government stockpiled meat to ease farmers' losses after prices dropped 34 per cent on average from a year earlier, Mr Guo said.

Imports by China fell to 66,000 tons in the first six months of 2009, down 70 per cent from a year earlier, according to Customs data. Exports jumped 18 per cent to 43,464 tons.

In Russia, farmers took advantage of the H1N1-related bans and a devaluation of the ruble to increase production, said Galina Kochubeeva, an official from the US Meat Export Federation in Moscow. Output rose 16 per cent in the first half to 611,300 tons, according to Rosstat, the Russian state statistics agency.

Total US shipments sank 20 per cent through June from a year earlier to 1.985 billion pounds, the government said on Aug 13. Wholesale pork plunged 44 per cent to 52.52 cents a pound since prices set a record of 94.41 cents in August 2008. Only natural gas performed worse than hogs this year on the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials, dropping 42 per cent.

Exports grew 279 per cent in the past decade to a record 4.667 billion pounds in 2008, USDA data show. In contrast, chicken trade rose 60 per cent since 1998 and beef fell 13 per cent.

The US sold about 20 per cent of domestic pork overseas last year, the most ever. Much of that supply now has nowhere to go, said Steve Meyer, the president of Paragon Economics in Adel, Iowa.

Pig glut
US output has expanded through better breeding methods and vaccines to combat circovirus, a respiratory disease that attacks piglets. Gains are worsening the glut, Missouri's Grimes said.

Farmers were unprofitable in all but two months since September 2007, the result of record feed costs last year and falling demand this year.

The industry has lost almost $4.5 billion, according to the National Pork Producers Council. Grimes said the figure may top $5 billion by the end of 2009.

"I'm afraid it's going to take bankruptcy by quite a number of producers" to spur prices, Grimes said.

Thousands of jobs may disappear as banks cut lending, said Neil Dierks, the chief executive officer of the National Pork Producers Council.

In Iowa, the largest hog state, 63,000 people work in the industry, Governor Chet Culver said.

"The drain on equity is just phenomenal," Mr Dierks said in an interview.

"Some economists are estimating that we'll see a contraction of 5 to 10 million head of hogs. And for every million head we don't produce, that's about 1,000 jobs that rural America loses."


 

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Influenza A H1 Found at Piggery in Victoria
AUSTRALIA - A preliminary diagnosis of Influenza A H1 has been found in pigs at a piggery in Victoria. AAHL is yet to confirm if N1 is present. Workers at the piggery have shown signs of possibly having had influenza.



Further test results will be available over the next couple of days. While diagnostic tests are still to be completed, it is likely that this will be a case of Pandemic H1N1 2009 strain.

If conclusive this will be the second case of swine influenza in Australia. The farm is in quarantine, and movement controls (including facilities, equipment and feed) have been instituted on the affected piggery. All precautions are being taken to contain the virus on site and the movements of animals on and off the property are being traced to ensure that influenza has not spread to other properties. This in accordance with Australia's policy to contain the spread of the disease under the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement.

Meanwhile, in New South Wales...
NSW DPI continues to manage the NSW incident and Australian Pork Limited is working closely with the NSW CVO, the office of the Australian Chief Veterinarian and the farm in question. All pigs at the NSW IP are recovering or near recovery. There continues to be ongoing monitoring of pig health and the farm remains under quarantine with livestock movement controls in place until Proof of Freedom is established.

Information and assistance for pig owners and the community APL has been liaising with the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, who has progressed our request with the relevant health authorities to put pig farmers and workers (including vets) at the top of a list to be vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available (likely to be September). APL has made a request that abattoir workers also be given priority vaccination. With Influenza A/H1N1 confirmed in an Australian piggery, stringent biosecurity on-farm remains critical! APL recommends that visitors to a piggery should be discouraged.

Piggery employees, especially those in close contact with the animals, should notify their manager or leading hand if any members of their family or any people they have frequent contact with are exhibiting flu or flu-like symptoms. Both national and international food authorities firmly state that pork is safe to eat. It is impossible to contract Influenza A/H1N1 from eating pork and pork related products. There is no connection between pork products and this disease.

Enhanced biosecurity measures for piggeries It is critical that pork producers are vigilant with biosecurity to protect against disease incursion. If in doubt contact your vet. APL is recommending that all farms implement the following routines: Quarantine all pigs purchased from saleyards or other farmers Establish, implement and enforce strict sick leave policies for workers presenting influenza-like symptoms such as fever, cough, body aches, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhoea. Prevent anyone working with the pigs exhibiting these symptoms from coming to work for 7-10 days after presenting symptoms of respiratory illness, even mild ones. Limit visitors to farms Follow other generally accepted biosecurity practices See the Enhanced Biosecurity Arrangements for Producers Alert available from the APL website.

Industry Seeks Priority for Vaccine
Two million doses of the vaccine are due to be delivered to the Federal Government within weeks, reports ABC.

Victorian pork producer Tim Croagh says having access to vaccines for his workers will help maintain biosecurity.

"It's important to the industry," he says.

"All workers that are exposed, and all of us are, should be at the top of the queue to get these vaccines."

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Pork Producer Forum in Young
AUSTRALIA - The NSW Farmers’ Association Pork Committee is inviting all pork producers to attend a Producer Forum and Dinner in Young next week.



The Forum, which will take place at the Young Golf Club on Monday, 24 August, will include an overview of issues affecting the pork industry such as the recent Influenza A H1N1 virus outbreak.

The Forum will provide an opportunity for producers to discuss this and other issues facing the pork industry, including country of origin labelling, livestock identification and traceability and the pork supply chain integrity system.

Also on the agenda are addresses from NSW Farmers’ Association Pork Committee Chair Mal Gett and Australian Pork Limited CEO Andrew Spencer, an overview of current marketing activities from Australian Pork Limited, recent advances in weaner nutrition and securing a more reliable and consistent supply of feed grains.

And, in a first for the Association’s Pork Committee, for those pork producers who are unable to attend, the Forum will be broadcast live online between 4:30pm and 6pm on Monday. To register for the online broadcast, contact Greg Mills at the Department of Industry and Investment NSW on 0488 491 648.

The Pork Producer Forum and Dinner is being jointly hosted by the NSW Farmers’ Association Pork Committee, Australian Pork Limited, the Pork CRC and the Department of Industry and Investment NSW.

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Pig Farm to Remain Under Quarantine over H1N1 Flu
AUSTRALIA - A pig farm in Victoria's Goulburn Valley will remain under quarantine for a few more weeks.



Earlier this week, several breeding female pigs on the farm at Cosgrove, east of Shepparton, tested positive to Influenza A, H1N1.

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has been monitoring pigs at the farm, reports ABC.

Chief veterinarian Dr Hugh Miller says the virus does not seem to be spreading among the pig population. However testing is continuing.

"Once there's been a week passed where there's been no pigs with flu-like signs on the piggery, then we'll start to be much more confident that it has disappeared," he said.

"We do what we call proof-of-freedom testing after that, to be confident that the disease is gone," he said.

The swine flu diagnosis is expected to be confirmed in test results this afternoon.

"But I need to say they don't change the situation, they just give us confirmation that what we believe is the case, in fact is the case."

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Operations Suspended in the Bryanskaya Oblast
RUSSIA - Taking into account a high risk of spreading infectious farm animal diseases, agents of the Rosselkhoznadzor Administration for the Bryanskaya and Smolenskaya Oblasts, have carried out inspections of pig farms in the Bryanskaya Oblast.



Special attention was given to the observance of veterinary and sanitary rules for the prevention of African swine fever introduction to pig farms.

To date, the veterinary and sanitary states of most farms are wide open to criticism. Thus, the inspections resulted in drawing up 67 protocols of administrative violations and taking 29 administrative cases to court.

The absence of disinfection barriers at the entrance to farms, apart from changing and washing facilities, were listed among typical violations. Besides preventive desinsection and deratization, as well as ante-mortem and post-mortem, veterinary and sanitary expertise followed by branding were not carried out.

Animal slaughter was conducted in unequipped and inappropriate places, products were marketed without veterinary accompanying documents, provisions for the biological waste disposal are not in place. The worst of them all was that two thirds of the checked farms did not work under "closed type" regimes, therefore, running a high risk of spreading infectious animal disease agents.

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EU Pig Prices: Stability Continues to Remain
EU - This week, the European slaughter pig market proves to be well balanced again.

 

For the fifth week in a row, the prices in Germany, Austria and Belgium remained unchanged. Compared to last week’s prices, the Danish and French prices also continued to be stable. At about mid-August, supply and demand appears to have equilibrated in France.

In Spain, the price went down again, because the slaughter companies are not ready to increase the number of slaughters for as long as until a higher margin can be achieved. As a consequence of changes in currency exchange rates, the price fell in Great Britain. The Dutch and Swedish pigs-mature-for-slaughter prices could be increased slightly. In the Netherlands, the improved sales of pork and increased income for neck in particular are said to have caused price increases.

Trend: Exports towards Eastern Europe still run smoothly, thus helping to relieve the domestic market. As the slightly increased quantities of pigs mature for slaughter on offer still are being sold to the slaughter companies without problems, prices are expected to remain stable.

[mikey]

Chinese Pigs Fed Harmful Chemicals
CHINA - Many Chinese farmers continue to skirt the ban on chemical additives in food for pigs, increasing the risk of disease and illness in humans, according to a report from the nation's top legislature.



Weak links in the government's management of farming and safety standards have led to an increasing number of cases of people becoming sick from contaminated pork, according to the report released Tuesday from the National People's Congress Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

In February, more than 80 people in Guangdong province experienced stomachaches and diarrhea after consuming pig organs contaminated with an illegal feed additive called Clenbuterol.

One of the largest food poisoning cases involving Clenbuterol occurred in Shanghai in 2006 when 336 people were hospitalized after eating pig meat and organs contaminated with the additive.

"There is still illegal use of Clenbuterol and other banned chemicals," said Wang Yunlong, chairman of the NPC's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

The Ministry of Agriculture has launched a year-long crackdown on the supervision of the production, marketing and abuse of additives, but the NPC's report puts added pressure on the campaign to wipe out the practice.

This year, the ministry has exposed 8,677 cases of additive abuse, halted 124 enterprises without operating permits and cancelled 87 licensed enterprises in China, one of the leading consumers of pork in the world.

According to statistics in 2007 from the China Meat Association, pork accounts for about 65 per cent of the meat consumed in China. Per capita consumption has doubled in 16 years, starting from 1990.

Clenbuterol, dubbed "shouroujing," is added to the pig feed to keep the animals lean. Leaner pork brings a higher price, especially as the market for pork in China has dropped precipitously.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, the price of pork in July was down 28.3 per cent since last July to 14.8 yuan per kilogram.

The additive is harmful to humans and can be fatal since it often accumulates in organs such as the liver and lungs.

The ministry yesterday declined to provide the latest statistics on how many cases of banned drugs or additives in pig farming have been exposed so far this year.

Li Lite, professor at the China Agricultural University, said money is at the root of the problem.

"In some places, the price of pork is lower than that of vegetables. To keep up with the cost, farmers seek any means, even illegal means," Li said.

Also, when the farmers' usage of the additive came to light in the past few years, "they were not held responsible," he said.

The use of banned chemicals is a crime, but the practice comes from "a lack of protection for the farmers' interests," he said.

The farmers may be buying the additives from fertilizer and feed providers, experts said.

[mikey]

US Pork Industry Seeking Subsidies
AUSTRALIA - The US pork industry is hoping to be the next sector to benefit from increased government assistance.



The National Pork Producers Council has asked the US Department of Agriculture to spend almost $300 million buying American pork, reports ABC.

Despite the industry's woes, US pork is gaining market share in Australia, with North American imports rising about 30 per cent so far this year.

But if the latest request is approved, Robobank analyst Wendy Voss says it won't just be Australia's pig farmers who feel the pain.

"The way it's looking at the moment, (the support package) could draw it onto the domestic market rather than the export market, which is good," she says.

"But that in itself, I guess, has some issues for other producers in Australia, like cattle producers, because you're pulling more product onto the market, that is then going to compete with our manufacturing beef that we send over there."

"It's all inter-connected."