As Japan’s poultry ban ends, Indonesia eyes other Asian markets

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  Andrea Gantz

  The Indonesian poultry industry hopes the end of Japan's ban on Indonesian poultry will also help trade in other markets.

  From WATTAgNet:
  As Indonesia prepares to ship poultry to Japan after the lifting of a 10-year ban, the Indonesian poultry industry also has its eyes on other Asian markets.
  As Japanese buyers are known for their strict quality controls, industry sources said the move could be seen a seal of approval for Indonesian chicken, which could help it reach other Asian markets.
  Japan had banned the import of Indonesian poultry around ten years ago over avian influenza concerns, but agreed to resume the imports after a visit by trade delegates to updated facilities eased those fears, said Nurlaila Nur Muhamad, director of agriculture and forestry product exports at Indonesia's trade ministry.
  "The first Japan poultry shipment is now imminent," Muhamad told Reuters. "We have a chance at exporting to other countries, not only Japan ... The first choice is Asia."
  Hit by scares over chicken meat safety in 2014, Japan was open to further diversifying its poultry supplies beyond China and Thailand, signing an agreement with Indonesia in August that is expected to be worth up to $200 million a year. In 2003, before the ban on shipments, Indonesian cargoes accounted for less than 1 percent of the total value of Japan's poultry imports.
  Currently worth more than $4 billion annually, Indonesia's domestic poultry sector also has plenty of potential to grow as the world's biggest Muslim population has been consuming more poultry as the economy has improved. Indonesians are expected to consume more chicken in 2015 than in 2014, according to analysts.

Big Dutchman Asia-Pacific holds sales meeting

Participants of the Big Dutchman Asia-Pacific Sales and Agents’ Meeting 2014. 
This year’s Big Dutchman Asia-Pacific Sales and Agents’ Meeting was held on the island of Phuket, Thailand, from March 30 to April 2. A total of 80 participants traveled from all over Asia-Pacific to join the three-day event. The conference provided the agents and sales teams from the company’s poultry business unit with an excellent platform to exchange information on the various markets and updates with respect to new products and innovations. Inspiring ideas and feedbacks were presented, as well as strategies for enhancing business opportunities. 
Several agents and distributors were given awards in recognition of their accomplishments in increasing the total Big Dutchman turnover of the Asian Pacific markets. The meeting, which also aimed at further strengthening team spirit among the Big Dutchman offices and independent sales agencies, was hosted by Big Dutchman Thailand.

Annual Ross association meeting addresses challenges to future growth

Aviagen customers and distributors take part in the annual Ross Asia Association Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
A well-attended Ross Asia Association Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, brought
Aviagen distributors and customers in the region together to hear several international and senior Aviagen managers address key future industry opportunities and challenges. For the past ten years, the association meeting has provided value to both the customers and the company while monitoring market developments in Asia and the global poultry industry.
Orapan Chansawat, vice president of Ross Asia, said:  "We look forward to this annual event which brings in all Ross customers from the Asian region.  They are the heart of our business and their response to this meeting enables us to share information and spend quality time with them all."
The current meeting was no exception and offered a varied program including a look into the structure and long term commitment of the EW Group, a second generation, privately held research and development organization with several fully-owned companies in animal genetics, health and nutrition markets. An Aviagen business update reviewed the progress in several major markets and was then followed by a presentation on the Indonesian market by the Livestock and Animal Health Ministry of Agriculture.
An interesting analysis of the competitive environment of the growth markets in the East versus the low-cost markets in the West set the stage for a review of process improvements in the Asian further processing industry.  A motivational presentation on 'Being a Runaway Success' completed the first day of the meeting.
The presentation "A Partnership in Technical Service" and a commentary on emerging and re-emerging disease across Asia started the subsequent day's agenda.  A China update, giving a detailed review of the current difficulties being experienced in the world's second largest market, was laid out in detail in a customer presentation before a critical review of key performance indicators in the slaughter house was delivered to the group.  The last presentation addressed genetic and research and development product development, leaving attendees with an in-depth view of what to expect from the
Ross 308 as they move forward with their business plans for the future.
Attendee Tian Fu, Beijing Dafaun Poultry Breeding Co ., commented: "It was encouraging to get a review and update of Aviagen's strategy and an indication of what the genetic improvements will be in the medium to long term. It helps us manage the business and our people as we become more cost-effective and increase our output in the future."
Margaret MacKenzie, Inghams Enterprises in Australia, added: "Genetic improvement is most important, particularly the feed conversion impact on performance and maintaining the lead over competition.  What you are doing for me tomorrow on product improvements has our interest."

Asia will drive growth for poultry industry

“In the last 40 years, developed countries were the drivers of growth,” said Osler Desouzart, consultant, OD Consulting. “The world is changing, and it is changing towards Asia." He stated that, in the past, the hope of Brazilians was to export to the EU and Japan; now it will be Asia. Desouzart, who spoke at the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council’s annual meeting in Williamsburg, Va., said that poultry imports in Asia and the Pacific Rim will grow, and imports in the EU will decrease.
Income fuels consumption
Rising standards of living result in the consumption of more animal products, according to Desouzart. “More money in pockets means more meat in the diet,” he said.
Developing countries will be the drivers of growth because of increasing populations and incomes. Desouzart expects that 77 percent of the increase in world poultry production will come in developing countries. He said that poultry production in Asia will grow but not fast enough to keep up with consumption.
Importance of water
Desouzart said that it takes four times more water to produce an animal-based diet than for a vegetable-based diet. Countries will export water-embedded animal products to countries that don’t have enough water to produce them. To an extent, this happens already when grain is exported to arid countries where it is used to feed animals for human consumption. Chicken is the most efficient of the major farm animals at producing meat, so Desouzart said that poultry producers are well positioned to help feed a world where water availability will play an increasing role in where food is produced.

Asia poultry farmers may benefit from infectious disease initiative

Asia’s poultry producers could be among the beneficiaries of a new public-private partnership research program — ALTANT-ASIA — between Pfizer Animal Health, MSD Animal Health and leading scientists in The Netherlands, seeking to develop alternative strategies to protect farm animals from infectious diseases by minimizing the likelihood of inducing antibiotic resistance.
The approximately US$10 million research program is being co-financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation in collaboration with Immuno Valley, a network and technology transfer organization, and Utrecht University, and is one of the largest of its kind.
The overall project is focused on delivering a platform of new class anti-infectives for livestock that will exhibit antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties. All partners will closely collaborate to develop innovative anti-infectives based on newly identified small peptides as alternatives to antibiotics for animals. They will contribute to the research program by sharing knowledge, equipment and financial resources.
“This opportunity recognizes the long-term need for new anti-infectives for the development of effective treatments for infectious animal diseases, while minimizing the impact on resistance in both human and animal pathogens," said Jeffrey L. Watts, director of anti-infectives Pfizer Animal Health. “Moreover, the funding of this initiative by the Dutch government represents an acknowledgement of the necessity of such programs and the need to responsibly partner with the industry to bring new therapies to market.”