Philippines lifts ban on Austria poultry imports

The Philippines government has lifted its ban on poultry and poultry products coming from Austria, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, declaring that the products no longer threaten local livestock in terms of contamination from avian influenza.
The ban was issued in March 2006 after reports of low pathogenic avian flu in February of the same year. “[The] last finding was on April 16, 2006, and there has been no infection of poultry or other captive birds [observed],” said a memorandum order.
The avian flu episode was resolved on April 26, 2006, based on the official status report on the disease submitted by Austria to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Further evaluation of the Bureau of Animal Industry confirmed that the risk of contamination from importing poultry and poultry products from Austria has been declared as negligible.

US poultry certified wholesome down 7 percent in March

U.S. poultry certified wholesome during March (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.6 billion pounds, down 7 percent from the amount certified in March 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
The February 2012 revised certified total, at 3.47 billion pounds, was up 4 percent from February 2011 numbers. The February revision represented a decrease of 515,000 pounds from January's preliminary pounds certified.
The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during March was 4.77 billion pounds, down 7 percent from 5.12 billion pounds during the same time in 2011. Young chickens inspected totaled 4.06 billion pounds, down 8 percent from March 2011. Mature chickens, at 63.5 million pounds, were down 13 percent from 2011 numbers. Turkey inspections totaled 629 million pounds and ducks totaled 13.8 million pounds, down 6 percent from 2011.
Young chickens slaughtered during March averaged 5.81 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from March 2011. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.18 pounds per bird, down 8 percent from 2011 numbers. Turkeys slaughtered during March averaged 30.6 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from March 2011.
For more poultry information and statistics, see www.wattagnet.com/marketdata.html.  

Hong Kong blocks northeastern China poultry after bird flu confirmation

Hong Kong has suspended imports of poultry products, including eggs and frozen meat, from China's northeastern Liaoning province for 21 days after authorities confirmed an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu, according to reports.
The outbreak was among chickens, but no further information is available. Hong Kong imported 28,000 metric tons of frozen poultry and 103 million poultry eggs from Liaoning in 2011. So far, there have been 24 human cases of H5N1 confirmed globally in 2012, compared with 62 in all of 2011.

March US egg production up, chicks down

U.S. egg production totaled 7.86 billion during March, up slightly from 2011 numbers, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report.
Production included 6.8 billion table eggs, and 1.06 billion hatching eggs, of which 981 million were broiler-type and 78 million were egg-type. The total number of layers during March averaged 340 million, down slightly from 2011. March egg production per 100 layers was 2,313 eggs, up 1 percent from March 2011.
All layers in the U.S. on April 1 totaled 341 million, down slightly from 2011 numbers. The 341 million layers consisted of 285 million layers producing table- or market-type eggs, 52.1 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs and 3.09 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on April 1 averaged 75.2 eggs per 100 layers, up 1 percent from April 1, 2011.
Egg-type chicks hatched during March totaled 40.6 million, down 7 percent from March 2011. Eggs in incubators totaled 39.3 million on April 1, down 5 percent from 2011 numbers. Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totaled 210,000 during March, down 17 percent from March 2011, according to the USDA.
Broiler-type chicks hatched during March totaled 764 million, down 4 percent from March 2011. Eggs in incubators totaled 614 million on April 1, down 5 percent from 2011. Leading breeders placed 6.73 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during March, down 5 percent from March 2011.
For more information and statistics on poultry, see www.wattagnet.com/marketdata.html.  

International Pig Veterinary Society Congress holds photo contest

The 2012 International Pig Veterinary Society Congress Korea organizers have opened a photo contest for event participants, who can submit their own digital photos with a chance to win a prize of US$500.
According to the organizer, this contest, with the theme “happy pigs–healthy people,” is open for all members who have registered for the IPVS Congress and completed their payment registration fee. Participants can submit their photo through the official website through May 11 — each person can only post one image and only digital versions will be accepted. The best 10 photographs will be displayed at the ICC JEJU, the congress venue, and the entrants of the top three photographs will be given prizes 0f US$500, US$300 and US$200, respectively.
The 2012 IPVS Congress will be held from June 10 to June 13, at ICC JEJU, in Jeju, Korea. The regular online registration will be open until April 30.

Burger King to source eggs from cage-free chickens by 2017

Burger King has announced that it will source all its eggs and pig meat from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017, a move that could open a significant new market for the egg and pig meat industries. Nine percent of the corporation's eggs and 20 percent of its pig meat are already cage-free.
Burger King has been increasing its use of cage-free eggs and pig meat as the industry has become better able to meet demand, said Jonathan Fitzpatrick, chief brand and operations officer. He said the decision is part of the company's social responsibility policy. "We believe this decision will allow us to leverage our purchasing power to ensure the appropriate and proper treatment of animals by our vendors and suppliers," he said. The company uses hundreds of millions of eggs and tens of millions of pounds of pig meat annually.
Wendy's and McDonald's have asked their pig meat suppliers to outline plans for the elimination of gestation crates without setting a timetable.

US hog slaughter up in 2011

U.S. commercial hog slaughter totaled 110.9 million head in 2011, 1 percent higher than 2010 with 99.2 percent of the hogs slaughtered under federal inspection, according to data from the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report.
The average live weight in 2011 was up 3 pounds from 2010 at 275 pounds. Total pig meat production for 2011 came in at 22.599 billion pounds, compared to 2010's 22.275 billion pounds. Barrows and gilts comprised 96.9 percent of the total federally inspected hog slaughter.
Pig meat production in March 2012 totaled 1.99 billion pounds, down 3 percent from 2011 numbers, according to the USDA. Hog slaughter totaled 9.52 million head, down 4 percent from March 2011. The average live weight was up 1 pound from 2011 numbers, at 279 pounds.