Poultry and Egg Export Council elects new board members

Members of the Executive Committee are, seated left to right, Chaz Wilson, Charles von der Heyde, Jim Sumner. Standing left to right, Jim Wayt, Steve Monroe, Neil Carey, Mike Little, Joel Coleman, Steve Lykken.

Charles von der Heyde, president of Pilgrim's of Mexico, was elected chairman of the board of the United States Poultry and Egg Export Council for 2013-14.
Von der Heyde succeeds outgoing Chaz Wilson, vice president of Grove Services, an international poultry trading company with offices in Atlanta, Ga. His election came Thursday during the council's annual meeting in Williamsburg, Va.
Until January, von der Heyde was vice president of international sales at Pilgrim's headquarters in Greeley, Colo., when he was promoted to head up the company's operations in Mexico. Pilgrim is second-largest poultry producer in the world.
"Although USAPEEC has always been an international organization, this will make it even more so," said U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council president, Jim Sumner, of von der Heyde's election. "It should serve the interests of both the U.S. and Mexican industries well and should also enhance the relationship that has developed over years with our Mexican counterparts."
As chairman, von der Heyde will head the eight-member Executive Committee, which sets policy and gives direction to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council, an organization whose mission is to promote and increase exports of U.S. chicken, turkey, duck, and egg products worldwide.
Also elected to the executive committee were Mike Little, director of export sales at Mountaire Farms in Selbyville, Del., as first vice chairman, and Jim Wayt of Intervision Foods in Atlanta, Ga. as second vice chairman. Joel Coleman, vice president and general manager of international sales at Butterball in Mt. Olive, N.C., was re-elected secretary-treasurer of the organization.
Neil Carey of Simmons Prepared Foods in Siloam Springs, Ark., was re-elected chairman of the Marketing Committee. The chairman of this committee also serves on the board and has a seat on the Executive Committee.
Rounding out the executive committee as at-large members are Steve Monroe of Sanderson Farms in Laurel, Miss., and Steve Lykken of Jennie-O Turkey Store in Wilmar, Minn. Wilson will remain on the committee as past-chairman.
New members elected to three-year terms on the council board are Sher Marshall of Interra International in Atlanta; Bobby Wilburn of Peco Foods in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Dean Hughson of Henningson Foods in Omaha, Neb.; and Scott Chapman of Lineage Logistics in Richmond, Va.

Poultry & Egg Export Council: Industry will fight Mexico anti-dumping case

After the Mexican Secretariat of Economy's, Economia, move to publish a notice in the Feb. 8 Diario Oficial — Mexico’s official government organ — that it will begin an anti-dumping investigation on the import of certain U.S. chicken products, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council responded by saying that the poultry industry will fight the case.
Economia published the notice on behalf of Bachoco and two other companies, Productores Avicolas de Tehuacan SA de CV and Buenaventura. Import tariff lines included in the notification cover a range of fresh and frozen dark-meat chicken products, such as leg quarters, thighs, drumsticks and boneless legs and thighs. No turkey products are included in the investigation. “We’re a bit surprised by this case,” said Jim Sumner, president of the USAPEEC. “The U.S. and Mexican industries have a long history of cooperation. We look forward to resolving this case promptly."
According to Sumner, the Mexican Poultry Producers Association,UNA, and many public officials were unaware of the charges being brought against the U.S. “In fact, the UNA has said that the organization does not support the anti-dumping investigation,” said Sumner.
The USAPEEC has retained a Mexican law firm, Uruchurtu and Associates, to contest the allegations, and has also retained the services of Gary Horlick, a Washington, D.C.-based trade lawyer. “We intend to fight these baseless allegations aggressively on behalf of the U.S. chicken industry and in cooperation with the U.S. government,” said Horlick. “This case lacks justification. The main petitioner just reported a sales increase for 2010 of nearly 10%, and our calculations show that U.S. companies were not selling their chicken to Mexico at prices below the U.S. price, which is the definition of dumping.”

US assures Russia of poultry meat safety in wake of egg recall

In wake of the ongoing U.S. recall of roughly 550 million shell eggs due to salmonella contamination, the Poultry & Egg Export Council has released a statement to allay Russian fears of unsafe poultry meat.
According to the statement, "all poultry meat produced in the USA and designated for export to the Russian Federation is in full compliance with Russian requirements on the safety of poultry products." Poultry & Egg Export Council President Jim Sumner said the two industry segments are in no way related. "The poultry meat and egg segments of the U.S. poultry industry are completely separate entities," he said. "The products never come into contact with each other and are produced at separate facilities remotely located from one another, which fully excludes any possibility of cross-contamination."
The statement was released in response to comments made by Russian officials that the egg recall could have negative implications on U.S. poultry exports to Russia.

USAPEEC protests China’s anti-dumping action against US poultry

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Export Council has condemned China's move to file an anti-dumping case against U.S. poultry. The move, according to USAPEEC, is in response to the Obama administration's decision to impose tariffs on import of tires made in China.
The council has denied the dumping allegations. As per international trade rules, dumping arises only when a product is sold in a foreign market at a price lower than the domestic price. In this case, U.S. poultry exports to China consisting mainly of chicken feet and paws — commodities highly valued in the Chinese market — are sold at prices ranging from US 60-80 cents per pound. This is much higher than the price prevailing in the U.S. markets where these products are sold for rendering at pennies per pound.
USAPEEC also denied the charge that the U.S. government subsidizes its poultry industry.
The council argued that it has always opposed the anti-China provision included in the recent Omnibus Appropriation Bill and the House version of the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The provision prevents USDA from promulgating a proposed rule to allow exports of cooked Chinese chicken to the U.S.
It has further urged the administration not to impose increased tariffs on Chinese tires.
The U.S. exported 451,000 metric tons of poultry — worth $393 million — to China in the last seven months. China has become the top market for U.S. poultry.