Wal-Mart Involved in Another Pork Scandal
12 June 2012


CHINA - Wal-Mart has been caught selling diseased pork ribs, reported National Business Daily.

Regulators of the animal husbandry sector in Dazhou, Sichuan province, found in a routine inspection this January that some pork ribs in Wal-Mart's cold storage warehouse were from diseased pigs, local media reported.
 
This incident took place not long after the company's Chongqing "green pork" scandal last year, where Wal-Mart was fined for labeling ordinary pork as "green pork" in a number of its outlets in Chongqing. The "green pork" scandal had caused the company an unprecedented crisis of confidence.
 
An officer of the Dazhou Animal and Health Inspiration Station confirmed the incident to National Business Daily.
 
Wal-Mart Stores Inc told the newspaper that the company has attached great importance to this incident and a task force guided by company headquarters has been established. All pork products related to the incident have been removed from shelves immediately, and cooperation with the suppliers have ended.
 
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart is cooperating with local government departments to work on this matter.

SA_LS320
San Angelo, TX    Wed Jun 06, 2012   USDA Market News

Producers Livestock Auction Co, San Angelo, Texas

Sheep and Goat Auction:
Weekly:

Total Receipts:  6495    Last Week:  5591    Year Ago:  11,078
Sheep Receipts:  3505    Last Week:  2670    Year Ago:    5624
Goat  Receipts:  2990    Last Week:  2921    Year Ago:    5454

  Compared to last week heavy slaughter lambs not well tested; light
slaughter lambs 10.00-20.00 lower.  Slaughter ewes 5.00-10.00 lower.
Feeder lambs 10.00-15.00 lower.  Nannies 10.00-12.00 lower; kids 30.00-
40.00 lower.  Trading and demand moderate at best.  Supply included 20
percent slaughter lambs, 15 percent slaughter ewes, 15 percent feeder
lambs, balance goats.  All slaughter lambs went to non-traditional
markets.  All sheep and goats sold per hundred weight (CWT) unless
otherwise specified.

SLAUGHTER LAMBS:
   Choice 2-3 shorn and wooled 100-150 lbs 110.00-118.00, few 127.00-
134.00.

   Choice and Prime 1 40-60 lbs 134.00-156.00; 60-70 lbs 128.00-141.00,
few 146.00; 70-80 lbs 121.00-130.00; 80-90 lbs 118.00-121.00; 90-100 lbs
120.00-128.00.
Choice 1 40-60 lbs 118.00-134.00; 60-70 lbs 110.00-124.00; 70-80 lbs
100.00-120.00; 80-90 lbs 100.00-112.00; 90-120 lbs 100.00-114.00.
Good 1 60-120 lbs 90.00-100.00.

SLAUGHTER EWES:
   Good 2-3 (fleshy) 40.00-45.00; Utility and Good 1-3 (medium flesh)
43.00-59.00, few 60.00-72.00; Utility 1-2 (thin) 37.00-45.00; Cull and
Utility 1-2 (very thin) 30.00-38.00; Cull 1 (extremely thin) 25.00-30.00.

SLAUGHTER BUCKS:
   50.00-74.00.

FEEDER LAMBS:
   Medium and Large 1-2 60-100 lbs 150.00-158.00; 100-105 lbs 140.00-
150.00.
   Medium and Large 2 50-95 lbs 130.00-150.00.

REPLACEMENT EWES:
   Medium and Large 1-2 hair ewe lambs 65-100 lbs 130.00-172.00 cwt.


GOATS:  Estimated 50 percent of receipts:
All sold per hundred weight (CWT) unless otherwise specified.

SLAUGHTER CLASSES:
   KIDS:  Selection 1 30-40 lbs 152.00-155.00; 40-60 lbs 146.00-164.00;
60-80 lbs 144.00-166.00, few 172.00-174.00; 80-100 lbs 158.00-176.00,
few 180.00-188.00.
Selection 1-2 30-40 lbs 134.00-145.00; 40-80 lbs 130.00-146.00; 80-100
lbs 120.00-140.00.
Selection 2 25-40 lbs 100.00-130.00; 40-80 lbs 100.00-130.00.
   DOES/NANNIES:  Selection 1-2 80-120 lbs 101.00-112.00; 120-130 lbs
86.00-94.00; 130-165 lbs 82.00-90.00; thin 70-115 lbs 70.00-102.00.
   BUCKS/BILLIES:  Selection 1-2 70-100 lbs 118.00-129.00; 100-150 lbs
100.00-122.00, yearlings 122.00-126.00; 150-250 lbs 90.00-116.00.

REPLACEMENT CLASSES:
   DOES/NANNIES: Selection 1-2 60-120 lbs 114.00-140.00.


Source:  USDA Market News Service, San Angelo, Texas

Friday, June 08, 2012
12 Months on - Industry Suffers from Live Export Ban
AUSTRALIA - The Western Australian Farmers Federation) (WAFarmers) has urged the community to recognise the devastating impact that the 2011 live export suspension had upon northern Australia, with this marking 12 months since the ban was put in place by the Federal Government.


WAFarmers Meat Section President Jeff Murray said suspending the live export trade was a blow from which many Northern producers may never fully recover.

“The annual income lost through this period will never be retrieved. The losses felt by producers and small businesses are irreversible,” Mr Murray said.

“The impacts of the live export suspension, were not just felt by cattle producers but cut off the life blood for mustering contractors, helicopter pilots and countless small businesses that are dependent on the trade.”

Mr Murray said during the suspension many of the cattle became unsuitable for the Indonesian market, forcing producers to find alternative markets.

“This led to a flow on impact in the Southern markets with anecdotal evidence demonstrating a lack of confidence amongst WA beef and sheep producers,” he said.

Mr Murray encouraged the general public to remember that farmers and pastoralists are committed to animal welfare and were devastated by the images of animal cruelty depicted in the Four Corners footage.

WAFarmers is fully supportive of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) which now assures the welfare of Australian animals in export markets.

“There is no excuse for animal cruelty and WA farmers are committed to ensuring high animal welfare outcomes,” Mr Murray concluded.

WAFarmers has reiterated their strong commitment to supporting pastoralists and will continue working with pastoralists and Government to mitigate the damage and improve conditions where possible.

Friday, June 08, 2012
FAO Food Price Index Drops Sharply
GLOBAL - Global food prices have dropped sharply in May due to generally favourable supplies, growing global economic uncertainties and a strengthening of the US dollar, FAO said.


According to FAO, the Food Price Index, measuring the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, fell by four per cent in May. It averaged 204 points and was 9 points down from April. This was the lowest level since September 2011 and about 14 per cent below its peak in February 2011.

"Crop prices have come down sharply from their peak level but they remain still high and vulnerable due to risks related to weather conditions in the critical growing months ahead," said FAO's grain analyst Abdolreza Abbassian.

FAO at the same time raised the forecast for world cereal production by 48.5 million tonnes since May, mainly on the expectation of a bumper maize crop in the United States.

FAO's latest forecast for world cereal production in 2012 stands at a record level of 2 419 million tonnes, 3.2 per cent up from the 2011 record.

The bulk of the increase is expected to originate mainly from maize in the United States amid an early start of the planting season and prevailing favourable growing conditions. As a result, the global coarse grain production is forecast at 1,248 million tonnes, a huge 85 million tonnes increase from the previous year.

However, with planting still to be completed and much of the crop at very early stages of development, the final outcome will depend greatly on weather conditions in the coming months.

With the main northern hemisphere rice crops now in the ground in several countries, the forecast of global rice production in 2012 is firmer and points to a 2.2 per cent increase from 2011, to some 490 million tonnes, mostly reflecting larger plantings in Asia.

For wheat, latest indications point to a contraction of about 3 per cent in production in 2012, to 680 million tonnes, still well above the average of the past five years.

The global cereal utilization is forecast to expand by at least 2 per cent in 2012/13, to 2 376 million tonnes, with feed utilization growing by 3.8 per cent, while food consumption is expected to increase by just over 1 per cent, largely keeping pace with world population growth.

At the current forecast level, world cereal production would exceed the anticipated utilization in 2012/13 (which has been revised up since last month by 19 million tonnes or 1 per cent) and lead to a significant replenishment of world cereal stocks, up 36 million tonnes, or 7 per cent, from the previous season.

Labelling Law for Beef and Pork Impeding Canada-US Trade
08 June 2012


CANADA - A simplified "Product of Canada and the USA" labelling system should apply to beef and pork as well as livestock raised, processed and traded between Canada and the United States, a new study released by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading public policy think-tank, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute of Washington, DC recommends.
 
The study found that regulatory differences in North America's integrated supply chain for red meat are costly and unnecessary.

In particular, the Mandatory Country-of-Original labelling (MCOOL) law in the United States imposes substantial costs on producers by requiring beef and pork products to be labeled according to the origin of the animal, where it was raised, and the country in which it was slaughtered and processed.

"Canadian cattle and hog exports to the United States have decreased by 42 and 25 per cent, respectively, since MCOOL went into force in 2009," said Alexander Moens, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of MCOOL and the Politics of Country-of-Origin labelling.
 
"These excessive labelling requirements do not increase food safety or improve health standard for consumers. MCOOL is simply a trade barrier, a product of the 'Buy American' shift."
 
Over the past several decades, Canada and the United States (as well as Mexico) have developed an integrated supply chain for many red meat products in which calves and pigs may be born in one country, raised in another, and slaughtered on either side of the border.

In 2011, Canada-US trade in agriculture was worth more than $38 billion US, $4.1 billion of which came from hogs and cattle, and pork and beef products.
 
"The nature of modern meat production makes this labelling requirement very costly. As often happens when special interests get special treatment, the real losers are consumers who must pay higher costs for what are termed 'benefits' but are of dubious validity," said Fred L. Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute president.

Despite nearly identical standards and regulations for red meat processing in both countries, MCOOL imposes a tracking, segregating, and recording system that increases production costs.
 
American producers are now avoiding the onerous and expensive labelling requirements by choosing 100-per-cent US products.

The resulting drop in trade puts thousands of Canadian jobs in the livestock industry at risk, and many American processors and packers are faced with a lack of supply.

To boost trade between the two countries, the report recommends the creation of a single regulatory area by:
•Implementing bi-national food and animal safety standards for beef and pork;
•Installing a bi-national inspection regime on both sides of the border at various stages of the production process, including in slaughtering and processing plants;
•Blending or harmonising meat grades designations;
•Adopting a single, bi-national country-of-origin label, specifically "Product of the USA and Canada"; and,
•Removing all border inspections.

"Regulatory cooperation would create a single red meat regime in which both Canadian and American products can be priced according to their quality and in which the origin of the animals is irrelevant," Mr Moens said.

"This would benefit consumers through lower prices, help keep beef and pork competitive among increasing food choices, and also make North American meat more competitive in the global market."

Mr Smith added: "Free trade is one of the basic means of ensuring a pro-consumer competitive economy. If the United States treats its closest neighbor and trade partner in this way, what grounds can we have for urging the rest of the world to eschew protectionism and embrace free trade as a governing principle?"

WPX 2012: US Pork Exports in 2012 Not as Strong as 2011
08 June 2012



US – The US had record pork exports in 2011 and very strong exports in the first quarter of 2012. However, currency exchange issues and fewer exports to China will make this a more challenging year, writes Chris Wright for ThePigSite from the World Pork Expo in Des Moines.

RC Hunt, President of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), said that the future of the US pork industry depends on free and fair trade and the continued expansion of exports. He pointed out that in 2011 the US exported a record of US$6.1 billion in pork, accounting for 27 per cent of all pork produced in the country.
 
Hunt said that particularly since last June, there has been great success for US pork exports to major markets. One of those markets was China, which was especially important in the latter half of 2011. However it does not appear that China will import as much in 2012 as it did last year.
 
Fewer exports to China and complications due to currency exchange issues in other countries this year lead Hunt to believe that they won't reach the 27 per cent mark like they did last year. Still, the expectations for 2012 are optimistic, he said.

Free Trade Agreements

Among the highlights that Hunt pointed out was the passage last year of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. The agreements with South Korea and Colombia have gone into effect and the Panama FTA should be implemented later this year.
 
Once fully implemented, these three FTAs will generate over US$ 770 million in additional pork exports annually.
 
Hunt pointed out the agreement with Colombia, in which Colombia agreed to remove a requirement that the US freeze or test pork against trichinae. Since the US has a negligible risk for trichinae, the Colombian requirement was a non-scientific barrier that prevented access of US chilled pork exports to Colombia. The NPPC worked closely with US and Colombian officials to remove the trichinae mitigation requirement. The removal of this barrier will allow US pork exports to reach 100,000 metric tons.

Trans-Pacific Partnership

Among the export challenges that lay ahead, Hunt said that the US is currently participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations with eight countries. With a total population of 195 million, TPP countries represent a substantial market for US pork exports.
 
Of those TPP countries, Hunt said that Viet Nam has the biggest potential for expanded US pork exports. Vietnam currently has limited US imports via non-tariff barriers. But if those barriers were removed, US pork exports could reach nearly US$ 600 million.
 
Hunt also mentioned trade with Canada, which is one of the US top export markets, while the US represents Canada's top export market. Canada has expressed interest in joining the TPP, but the NPPC objects to Canada's long history of subsidizing hog producers. Without those subsidies US pork exports to Canada would increase significantly. Therefore the NPPC urges that those subsidies be eliminated as a condition of Canada's entry into the TPP.
 
Japan also wants to join the TPP, but its agricultural sector is against it. Year after year, Japan has been the number one value market and the number two volume market for US pork exports.

China and Russia
 
At a second conference, also on pork exports and potential markets, held during the World Pork Expo, Laurie Hueneke, Director of International Trade Policy, Sanitary and Technical Issues for NPPC, addressed trade with China and Russia.
 
China is by far the world's largest pork consumer, consuming 50 million metric tons and could easily be the US's largest export market. China (including Hong Kong) imports only one per cent of its total pork consumption. Also, Chinese pork producers don't have easy or cheap access to feed grains, therefore their production costs are much higher than in the US. So imports from the US seem logical.
 
However, there are a number of issues restricting US pork to China. Hueneke said that those issues include a ban on the use of ractopamine, very high value added tax on pork imports and large subsidies to domestic producers, among other issues. Also, it was mentioned at this session that Chinese pork production has increased four per cent in 2011/2012.
 
If US exports to China increased as little as one quarter of one per cent, it would increase the value of US pork per head by US$ 3.72. If that went up one per cent it would increase the value of US pork per head by US$14.88 said Hueneke. Therefore, any positive movement in exports to China will be significant.
 
Russia is the talk of town in Washington, said Hueneke, because it will soon become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Once it joins the WTO, the US Congress must grant normal trade relations to Russia, in order to take advantage of the negotiated benefits.
 
Hueneke said that since 2008, US pork exports to Russia have decreased. There are a number of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues that need to be addressed with Russia so that US pork can grow in that market.
 
Those SPS include the trichinae issue, which calls for freezing pork, even though the US does not have problems with trichinae. Russia has zero tolerance for pathogens and tetracyclines and is threatening a ban on the use of ractopamine. It was also mentioned at this session that Russian pork production has increased five per cent in 2011/2012.
 
Hueneke concluded by saying that Russia has the fifth largest economy in the world and therefore represents a US$400 million a year potential for the US pork export market.

Finding Ways to Feed Pigs for Less
08 June 2012


US - Results of a preliminary experiment conducted at the University of Illinois indicate that it may be possible to select pigs that can make efficient use of energy in less expensive feed ingredients, thus reducing diet costs.

Less expensive feed is usually higher in fiber than the corn-soy diets typically used in US swine production, explained Hans H. Stein, professor of animal sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, the white breeds that are used in commercial pork production use only about 40 per cent of the insoluble fiber. "If you can increase that number to 50 or 60 or 70 per cent, then of course, you would get a much better use of the energy in those ingredients," Dr Stein explained.
 
"The white breeds have been selected for high efficiency and rapid gain for many, many generations," Dr Stein continued. "But that's all based on corn-soy diets. However, there are also indigenous breeds of pigs that have not been selected for commercial production, and these breeds have, therefore, not been fed the corn-soybean meal diets for as many generations as the white breeds."
 
Among those indigenous breeds are Meishan pigs, which have been raised in China for many centuries. Dr Stein's hypothesis was that these pigs, which have not been selected for efficiency and rapid weight gain, would use fiber more efficiently than the white breeds.
 
Stein and his team compared the fiber digestion of Meishan pigs with that of two groups of Yorkshire pigs. They tested four diets that used high-fiber ingredients: distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), soybean hulls, sugar beet pulp, and pectin. When fed DDGS, the values for apparent total tract energy digestibility were higher for the Meishan pigs (83.5 per cent) than for either weight-matched (77.3 per cent) or age-matched (78.8 per cent) Yorkshire pigs. Researchers observed no significant difference in energy digestibility for the other ingredients.
 
"What we observed was that, particularly for the DDGS diets, the Meishans were quite a bit more effective at using that fiber," Dr Stein said. "That diet is high in insoluble dietary fiber. When we looked at more soluble fibers, there was no difference."
 
Although Meishan pigs would never be used for commercial pork production in the United States, the results indicate that differences exist among breeds of pigs. Thus, it is possible that differences also exist among the white breeds and that some may use fibers more efficiently than others.
 
Dr Stein stressed that this study was preliminary and said that determining if white breeds can be bred to use insoluble fiber more efficiently will be quite costly because it requires selecting pigs for multiple generations. Dr Stein said that he and colleagues at the University of Illinois' Institute for Genomic Biology are pursuing funding for further research.
 
"I think it is exciting that there are some pigs that can use fiber better than we have thought in the past, and I think this will open up opportunities to think in different ways about how we can feed pigs economically," he said.
 
The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Animal Science and was co-authored with former graduate student Pedro Urriola.
 

Global Pig Industry Takes the Lead
08 June 2012

 

GLOBAL - The pig industry worldwide has a major contribution to make to lessening environmental impact.

Major steps have already been taken towards achieving this and the International Meat Secretariat has just published a report called Pigs and the Environment which examines the whole issue.
 
Some 16 different countries around the world have provided information for the report which shows just how seriously the pig industry is taking its responsibilities.
 
It takes for its starting point the statement from the FAO in Livestock’s Long Shadow which says “the considerable expansion of the livestock sector required by expanding demand must be accomplished while substantially reducing livestock’s environmental impact”.
 
Report author Mick Sloyan, Chairman of the IMS Pork Committee and Director of BPEX, said: “Put simply this means produce more with less.
 
“During our discussions it became clear that pork producers and processors in a wide range of countries have been investing in new and often innovative ways of using resources more efficiently to produce high quality meat protein.
 
“In addition they are often managing the by-products of production and processing a positive way, for example to generate alternative energy sources and replacement inputs such as fertilisers.
 
“It was also clear that there is a strong commitment to accelerate these developments in order to meet the growing demand for meat in a sustainable way.”
 
The report illustrates some of the ways countries are addressing the challenge of producing more with less.
 
Some are simple, many are innovative and all of them demonstrate very clearly that meat production and processing is part of the solution in satisfying the needs of the world’s consumers in the years to come.
 
Mr Sloyan said: “The report presents an overview of the global impact that pig production has on the environment and specifically the emission of Green House Gases. It uses provisional data produced by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. This data will be updated in the coming years as new knowledge becomes available.
 
“The report also contains examples of measures being taken in individual countries to reduce the impact on the environment in the future. These countries collectively account for 78% of the world’s pork production.”
 

In another month we will be half through this year.The good news is that selected bloodlines are still being imported into the country and if you look at the information at hand would appear the Philippines in Asia has the best selected bloodlines with respect to goats.The main interest and direction still appears gearded towards dairy and with the selected bloodlines coming into the country,picture for the Philippines as a leader for dairy goat genetics looks brighter than ever with future possibilites for exporting Philippine genetics to other Asian countries.

With all the permits and paperwork in order,Mustang Sally will begin the processing of our farm produced goats for our frozen goat meat division to be sold through the local market,daily and our restaurant.We have enough bucks from different breeds and grade % to collect data on how best to produce young 6 month kids in the 30-40kg. range for our operations.In truth,more of a hit and miss with kgs. within the given time frame.Information collected from the processed carcasses will help us identify bucks and does with the greater potential to reaching our goals along with our yearly goat culling,future goat culls will be processed through the restaurant.At present we are running 3 lines,off the boers,off the anglo nubians and our experimentials (Genemaxer).

For goat meat producers,should one have an outlet that allows the producer to sell their own,more monies in your pocket not someone else.Daily cashflows really help support the overall operation which in turn helps any producer reach their goals.Meat goat producers need to use all tools at hand over those in the business of selling breeders due to the shear fact that goats going for meat have lesser values over those sold for breeding stock.In time the understanding of which forages show the best value at the different stages of a goats  development and the understanding that pelleted feed will show better value for any producer due to the fact the country has the luxury of harvesting surplus forages during the rainy season and pressing these forages into pellets which in turn saves any producer money.Goats by nature are selective,messy eaters and will thrash around their feeds only to eat what they select and make a mess with all the rest.Pellets are all the same and the goats cannot tell which to select and what to leave so they are apt to eat more of the pelleted feeds over the standard way of feeding.The cost of the pellet machine allows only those who can afford, not all is lost to those who are unable to buy such a machine as one could very well blend their own crumble as some do with hogs and use this instead of pellets as both require no heat for extruding in the process and molasses is used as the binder which attracts your goats to the feed with less waste.

Lets hope many more will consider goat farming as the future in livestock.Would be interesting to learn what has happened to island born offsprings out of the PL 480 program.

Mustang Sally Farm
meat the need-from our farmgate to your dinner plate:

Thursday, June 07, 2012
High Korean Cattle Slaughter Continues
SOUTH KOREA - Total Korean cattle slaughter during April increased 15% year-on-year, to 68,877 head, taking the national total for the first four months of 2012 to 314,854 head – 35 per cent above the corresponding period in 2011.

From January to April, Hanwoo (native Korean) cattle slaughter jumped 39 per cent year-on-year, to 268,251 head, with a 63 per cent year-on-year rise in female slaughter – the highest rate since the year 2000.

Previously, the Korean Government had announced an intention to reduce the cattle herd to around 2.6 million head by the end of 2013 to improve cattle prices, mainly through the provision of money to producers to cull less productive cows. Assisted by rising slaughter rates, Korean cattle numbers in the first quarter of 2012 declined for the third consecutive quarter, to 3.3 million head - but remained two per cent above the corresponding quarter in 2011.

From January to April this year, Korean beef imports decreased 12 per cent on 2011. During those months, imports of chilled and frozen Australian beef decreased 19 per cent and 10 per cent year-on-year, respectively. The decline in consumer demand for beef has had the biggest impact on beef imports this year, accentuated by higher domestic production levels.

Sustainability Theme to World Meat Congress
06 June 2012


FRANCE - The World Meat Congress opened its doors on Tuesday (5 June) with its eyes firmly set on the subject of sustainable production, writes Chris Harris in Paris.
 
The conference welcomed the new French agriculture minister, Stephan Lefoll, following the recent elections in France and is also playing host to several other minister including the Uruguayan agriculture minister.
 
The congress, which is being attended by more than 700 delegates from around the world, was opened by the International Meat Secretariat president Arturo Llavallol.
 
He told the congress that the IMS sustainability committee had been working closely with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations over sustainability issues particularly with regard to cattle breeding.
 
He said that the FAO had already been working with the egg, poultry and dairy industries on sustainability issues and he said now was the time for the meat sector to find solutions.
 
He said the IMS has also become a global stakeholder in championing animal welfare issues. He said the industry has to focus on economic issues in countries around the world and focus on the development of production "so we can feed the billions of people in the world".
 
At the same time, he said that consumers are demanding good quality products.
 
President of the congress, Guillaume Roué, said that the programme of the congress is focusing on the demands of the market.
 
He said it will be tackling questions of sustainability, welfare, the environment, nutrition, health and marketing.
 
He said the industry has to strike a balance between the demands of these issues and the demands of business.
 
He said the industry has the "noble ambition of feeding the global population, but we also have to remember we are farmers".
 
"We are working as a food industry to provide food with quality and security, but as a farmer, we have to earn some money at the same time," he said.

Chinese Farm Produce Prices Down Last Week
07 June 2012


CHINA - China's farm produce prices generally maintained a downward trend last week, as data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed that prices dropped during the week of 28 May - 3 June from the previous week, marking the fifth week of decline.

The MOC data released Wednesday showed that 18 kinds of major vegetables saw a 7.5-per cent drop in wholesale prices from the previous week as supplies increased.
 
According to the data, the price of pork also fell 0.9 per cent while prices of beef and mutton rose 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. The price of chicken edged up 0.1 per cent.
 
Prices of staple foods, including rice and flour, remained unchanged, while the prices of different kinds of cooking oils saw moderate increases. Eight kinds of sea products saw an average price rise of 0.3 per cent, data showed.
 
Prices of eggs and garlic saw significant increases.

The report said egg prices ended the downshifting trend seen since the start of the year, rising 2.6 per cent last week. The cities of Beijing and Wuhan saw egg prices surge 11.4 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively.
 
The recent price surges on eggs and garlic have reignited concerns of inflation, even though analysts expect it to further moderate in May. Data show that the nation's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, eased to 3.4 per cent in April from 3.6 per cent in March.
 
An official with the National Development and Reform Commission also said Tuesday the price increases of eggs and garlic were "a reasonable recovery" from low bases.
 

US Hog Margins, 1 June 2012
07 June 2012

 

US - Margins improved significantly in the second half of May, particularly in spot Q2 and nearby Q3 periods, with deferred marketing quarters showing stronger margins as well, writes Doug Lenhart, General Manager of Genesus USA.

With the exception of the spot period, all forward margins are now at or above the 70th percentile on a long-term historical basis, providing producers with another opportunity to capture profitable margins following the fallout experienced in late winter/early spring.
 



Genesus Global Market Report
Prices for the week of May 28, 2012
 


Country

Domestic price
(own currency)

US dollars
(Liveweight a lb)
 


USA (Iowa-Minnesota)

83.14¢ USD/lb carcass

61.52¢
 


Canada (Ontario)

1.57¢ CAD/kg carcass

55.18¢
 


Mexico (DF)

19.00 MXN/kg liveweight

60.66¢
 


Brazil (South Region)

1.97 BRL/kg liveweight

44.01¢
 


Russia

95 RUB/kg liveweight

$1.30
 


China

13.20 RMB/kg liveweight

94.41¢
 


Spain

1.33 EUR/kg liveweight

75.40¢
 

Lower feed costs and higher hog prices have both contributed to the recent recovery in hog finishing margins. Following the release of the May WASDE report that indicated corn ending stocks above market expectations, corn has generally been under pressure although the market has stabilized recently.
 
A larger than expected drop in crop condition ratings this week coupled with the fact that soil moisture across the Corn Belt is the fourth driest on record going back to 1895 has raised concerns.
 
April USDA Cold Storage data revealed total pork inventories at 659.532 million pounds, up 8.1 per cent from March and 20.1 per cent higher than last year. It was also the second highest monthly pork inventory figure on record next to April 2008. While that might seem bearish, there are expectations that the high storage figure is in anticipation of a big export campaign over the summer.
 
With forward margins improving back above the 70th percentile, many producers have triggered alerts to either initiate and/or scale into additional coverage in order to capture the improved profitability.
 
2nd Qtr ’12 Most Recent Offering of $8.59, the low was ($1.96), the high has been $19.39 and the 5 year percentile of 67.7 per cent.
 
3rd Qtr ’12 Most Recent Offering of $7.76, the low was $1.20, the high has been $14.07 and the 5 year percentile of 74.3 per cent.
 
4th Qtr ’12 Most Recent Offering of $2.24, the low was ($1.76), the high has been $7.19 and the 5 year percentile of 74.0 per cent.
 
1st Qtr ’13 Most Recent Offering of $4.00, the low was $0.18, the high has been $6.04 and the 5 year percentile of 78.2 per cent.
 

European Pork Exports to China Rise in Q1 of 2012
07 June 2012


EU - In spite of several difficulties faced by the EU, pork exports to China rose 111 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year.

According to BPEX's latest Export Bulletin, EU exports rose 9 per cent in total in the first quarter of 2012.
 
According to a recent report, the French poultry and pig meat industries appear to have been asleep since 2002 and have lost their competitive edge. The main factor obstructing development in these sectors is the environmental challenge.
 
In Germany, the market situation ranges from a surplus in pig supplies in some areas to shortage of pigs in other regions. Domestic pig meat trade has taken speed and particularly fillets and topsides are in high demand, resulting in regional shortages. It is expected that Russia might resume imports of German fat and bacon articles.
 
In Switzerland, pork consumption dropped 1.7 per cent last year to 24.9 kg per person. Pork remains the main meat being consumed with close to 50 per cent of total meat consumption. Swiss meat board, Proviande, has been successful in leading development of exports of premium processed pork products such as traditional salamis and dried meats.
 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Dairy Investment Wanted, but Times Getting Harder?
CHINA - Chinese dairy product import levels were unexpectedly low for March 2012, reflecting modest levels of domestic demand.


These are figures to watch as private consumption needs to rise to reduce the need for investment spending. Doubters over the economy’s future are not hard to find, although most private sector forecasters remain positive.

The Asian Development Bank, for one, expects GDP to rise to 8.5 per cent in 2012 and consumption to grow by 12 per cent in 2012 and 2013, reflecting higher wages and rising government expenditure on social services. It believes the latter will encourage Chinese consumers to save less: going on price trends, they may well have to, reports Dairy Products China News.

The Chinese government is wanting international dairy companies to establish industrial-style farms to produce high quality fresh milk for its consumers weary of food scares centred on dairy products. Ironically perhaps – although in truth this signifies a structural adjustment in the sector which should surprise no-one – the corollary of this is that for many dairy farmers in China life is getting harder.

The recent reduced prices for milk being paid by Wondersun in Heilongjiang present a contrast to the April prices rises from Mead Johnson and Nestlé. Such price rises appear to have limited impact on sales, reflecting the specifics of the product category.