Purdue economist says high beef prices will benefit pork, poultry producers

The total United States cattle and calf inventory fell to its lowest level since 1952 this year as a result of high grain prices and drought. Dr. Chris Hurt, professor, agricultural economics, Purdue University, speaking at the WATT Meat and Poultry Supply and Price Forecast webinar said that 57 percent of the cattle herd is raised in parts of the U.S. that are still in some sort of drought. Low rainfall on pasture and range lands has made any expansion of the cattle herd difficult, and the U.S. herd is expected to get smaller before it begins to expand.
High cattle and retail beef prices will help to support poultry and pork prices into 2014, Hurt said, even though poultry and pork supplies are expected to increase next year. Hurt predicts increases in production of pork, chicken and turkey of 3, 3 and 4 percent, respectively, in 2014, while beef production falls 6 percent.
Per capita consumption of red meat and poultry in the U.S. set an all-time high in 2008 at 222 pounds, but it fell to 203 pounds in 2012. Hurt expects that per capita consumption of red meat and poultry in the U.S. will recover some of the lost ground as production of pork and poultry ramp back up. He predicts that per capita consumption of red meat and poultry will rise back gradually to 210 pounds by 2016.
Hurt predicts profitability for hog producers from the third quarter of 2013 through the third quarter of 2014. He estimates that hog prices will range from $63-67 per hundredweight over this 12 month period, and costs will be approximately $58 per hundredweight. Hurt predicts that Oklahoma City Steer prices will average $165 per hundredweight in 2014.

Designer pig meat improving pork’s image in Sweden

Designer pork has provided one of the few bright spots in a generally gloomy market for pig meat in Sweden, according to HKScan, the country’s largest meat company. HKScan reports a good start to Swedish sales of Rapsgris, its recently introduced brand of pork produced on the basis of including rapeseed oil in the pigs’ feed. This designer pork meat claims two benefits:
1. The polyunsatured fatty acids from rapeseed oil create a healthier pork by replacing some of the saturated fatty acids present in conventional pig meat.
2. Additionally, the meat is more tender and juicy as well as more flavorsome and is easier to cook.
In Sweden, the launch of Rapsgris began in March 2012 with its appearance on the menu at several top restaurants. Meat of the same type was then offered through retail stores from September. HKScan insists that it has been tailored carefully to suit Swedish conditions, from the amount of rapeseed oil included in the formulation of the feed to the on-farm conditions for producing the pigs.
The company adds that Rapsgris also is a PR success by helping improve the image of pork in Sweden. Domestic pig meat production continues to suffer a long process of decline.
This background was underlined by recent figures showing that fewer than 2.59 million pigs were slaughtered for meat at Swedish abattoirs in 2012, down from 2.85 million in 2011. Pig slaughter peaked in 2004 at 3.36 million pigs before beginning a series of year-on-year reductions.
First data for 2013 have indicated that a decline in pig production is on-going and may even have accelerated. Sweden’s sow numbers in December 2012 fell to 140,900 from 151,800 a year earlier and compared with 168,000 in 2008.

China opens doors to Canadian pork

China will soon resume Canadian pork imports in accordance with an agreement made between the two countries in December 2009, reported Xinhua, the Chinese government’s news agency. Canadian government statistics put the country’s pork exports to China at about US$42.15M in 2008, before a spring 2009 Chinese ban on Canadian pork went into effect over concerns about the H1N1 flu virus.
"When our government works to open and expand markets for Canadian producers around the world we always point to the clear [World Animal Health Organization] consensus that Canadian pork and beef is safe," Gerry Ritz, Canada’s agriculture minister, told a meeting of the World Animal Health Organization and Organization of Economic Cooperation in Paris. "We are pleased to continue our strong and respectful working relationship with China."

Malaysian citizens group demands relaxation of pork import restrictions

A group representing ethnic Chinese citizens of Malaysia, who make up slightly less than a quarter of the country's population, says that the government should allow imports of pork and pork-containing products throughout the year in order to keep prices down, according to the Malaysian newspaper The Star.
The majority of Malaysians are Muslims and, according to religious custom, do not eat pork. However, most ethnic Chinese Malaysians are not Muslims and have no religious restrictions against pork consumption. The government has eased pork import restrictions for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration.
Chua Soi Lek, deputy president of the Malaysian Chinese Association, said in a press conference that large swine farms in Malaysia are cutting production even though daily demand has remained steady at about 5,000 to 6,000 pigs, resulting in increased prices.
Farmers and retailers have argued publicly for three years about who is responsible for price increases, according to The Star, but Chua laid the blame squarely on producers. "There seems to be an element of monopoly by some big farmers," he said.

Ag goups ask gov. to leave Farm Credit System alone

The National Pork Producers Council and 22 other national agriculture groups recently sent a letter to Congress, encouraging them not to change the Farm Credit System.
The letter, addressed to Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., highlighted a letter sent last year asking that “the Farm Credit System not be swept up in any effort to resolve problems with the housing GSEs, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the commercial banking or securities regulatory structure. Including Farm Credit in these legislative initiatives would undermine the mission that the Agriculture Committees gave Farm Credit some 90 years ago.”
The organizations take issue with the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), that established a federal agency given broad authority to oversee the provision of credit and financial products and services to consumers. The letter states:
"While the language of the proposed legislation does not specifically reference the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), the Farm Credit System or the Farm Credit Act, the language of the bill impacts Farm Credit directly. The definitions of 'credit,' 'consumer financial product,' 'covered person,' 'financial activity,' 'leasing,' 'financial product or service,' all capture the Farm Credit System and how it conducts business. Under the bill, Farm Credit System institutions are treated no differently than unregulated finance companies rather than the highly regulated set of federally chartered institutions that they are."
"We ask that you take whatever steps are necessary to keep the Farm Credit System out of larger financial institution reform efforts."

Organic pork preservation research reported

American research into the preservation of organic pork products using natural ingredients is reported by the Food Safety Consortium in the U.S. Under U.S. government regulations, the organic products are not permitted to contain preservatives such as nitrate or nitrite. Instead, they may contain vegetable products that provide high concentrations of nitrate in a form which is acceptable because it is from a natural source. The vegetable-based nitrate makes the organic pork product look and taste like it was traditionally cured.
However, the organic products, lacking the directly-added nitrite, do not have the same level of built-in protection against pathogens such as Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes.
Researchers at Iowa State University have tested vinegar, lactate and lemon powder after these became available recently in commercial quantities for use as natural preservatives in foods. Testing showed them to be effective against L. monocytogenes and C. perfringens, although not to the extent that nitrite inhibits the growth of certain foodborne pathogens in traditionally cured pork products.

Belarus restricts Russian pork imports

Belarus' Ministry of Agriculture and Food announced temporary restrictions on imports of pork and pork products from Russia in early November, according to the BelTA news agency.
The restrictions have been introduced because of swine fever in Russia, said a Ministry official. In July 2009, Belarus announced a similar ban on pork and pork imports from Lithuania, following a report of a case of swine fever at a pig farm in that country's Panevezys region.
Belarusian pork imports fell by US$36 million year-on-year in the first half of 2009.

British pork sales up

According to reports, the British Pig Executive (BPEX) has released figures showing strong consumer purchases of bacon up 7.9%. Also, favorable purchasing was indicated for fresh pork and sausages, up 5.3% and 2%, respectively.
These numbers represent the four-week period ending October 4, compared with the same time frame from last year.

Iowa startup creates H1N1 vaccine for pigs

Sirrah Bios, the brainchild of animal science professor Hank Harris, has developed a vaccine to protect hogs from the H1N1 virus, according to reports.
The vaccine awaits a United States Department of Agriculture conditional license, expected in 2010, before it is commercially available.
The company was a grant recipient of Grow Iowa Values Fund which awarded Sirrah Bios $679,663.

USDA to help US pork producers

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently said the USDA will lend assistance to the U.S. pork industry to help it weather a nearly two-year economic crisis that has put some producers out of business.
The USDA agreed to purchase up to $30 million pork products, which will be used for various federal food programs. The department also is working to reopen pork export markets that closed in the wake of the H1N1 flu outbreak.
“The action by USDA to buy additional pork will benefit America’s pork producers, the U.S. economy and the people who benefit from government food programs,” said NPPC President Don Butler.
The NPPC recently sent a letter to Vilsack, urging the USDA to address a crisis that since September 2007 has seen producers losing an average of more than $21 on each hog marketed.

Russian pork, poultry production on rise

Efforts by the Russian government to increase domestic meat production to replace imported meat on the domestic market appear to be succeeding, with both pork and poultry production showing increases in the first half of this year as compared to the same period in 2008.
Russia produced 4.1 million metric tons liveweight of meat in the January to June period, a year-on-year increase of 6%. Pork and poultry production increased by 8% and 12% respectively year-on-year in the first half of this year. Russia's agriculture minister, Yelena Skrynnik, said the increase in meat production should facilitate a reduction in meat imports of more than 25%.

China bans meat imports from select US plants

China has banned meat imports from three U.S. pork plants and two poultry plants. Reuters quoted the USDA, reporting that no reasons had been given for this decision.
The pork plants are: Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel, N.C.; the John Morrell & Co. pork plant, Sioux City, Iowa; and the Seaboard Foods pork plant at Guymon, Okla.
The poultry plants are: Equity Group-KY Division poultry plant at Albany, Ky.; and the Mountaire Farms poultry plant at Selbyville, Del.

Convenience trend to grow US packaging industry

The packing industry for meat, poultry and seafood in the U.S. will grow to $9 billion by 2013, acccording to an industry study by The Freedonia Group. The report, "Meat, Poultry and Seafood Packaging," attributed the projected growth to an expansion in meat, poultry and seafood production and a change in the way the products are packaged.
Changes in packing practices are expected to reflect a shift from rigid packaging to flexible or case-ready packaging making the food items available in smaller, convenient sizes.
The report pointed out that poultry would achieve better sales than beef due to its lower cost, "favorable nutritional profile and versatility." A growth in sales of ready-to-eat products will also boost performance.
Fresh, frozen, and processed meat, poultry and seafood items are expected to command a greater share of the market than the ready-to-eat products in the same segment. A modest increase in fresh and frozen meat, poultry and sea food items is expected, from $4.49 billion in 2008 to $5.33 billion in 2013.