Russia: Pork exports may climb to 60 times more

from: Pig Progress

According to the Agriculture Minister of Russia Yelena Skrynnik, the country may see its exports of pork and poultry sky-rocket to 60 times more by the year 2020.

Russia is aiming to become less dependent on meat imports from other countries.

Increase in pork exports
"We're keeping pace with the times and the technological process. By our estimates, export volumes could be up to 400,000 tonnes of poultry and 200,000 tonnes of pork. That's $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year," she said, compared with a combined 10,000 tonnes of exports last year.

President Dmitry Medvedev has stated that Russia imports a big portion of meats, and is one of the biggest importers of the product; however, it may become a leader in the production of meat if it puts in place the essential infrastructure.

"We need to start with something. In that case, Russia will see big prospects to become an influential player at the international food market," he said

Earlier this year, the President signed a new food security doctrine – stating 85% of meat consumed in the country to be produced locally by the year 2020 and added that having meat available for domestic consumption would still be a high priority.

According to the Agriculture Minister, meat production is expected to climb 5% in 2010.

Philippine hog output expected to drop

from: Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=14114&src=2

LOCAL HOG production is expected to dip by 3% this year due to the lingering impact of damage to commercial and backyard farms caused by storms that hit late last year, an industry leader said yesterday.

The government, on the other hand, expects at least 1% growth this year, citing the recovery of some backyard farms from storm damage.

"We are expecting a shortfall in production for this year, around 3% decrease from last year because of damage caused by Ondoy and Pepeng last year," Albert R. T. Lim, Jr., president of the Pork Producers Federation of the Phils., Inc., said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Lim explained that both commercial and backyard farms that sustained storm damage have not totally recovered.
"The farms still need additional support from the government, especially for backyard farms," Mr. Lim said.
He noted that about 70% of the swine population is raised in backyard farms.

But Felix G. Valenzuela, interim director of the Livestock Development Council, an agency attached to the Agriculture department, said in a separate phone interview that he expects the industry to grow by at least 1%.

"We’re expecting [the hog industry] to grow by at least 1% this year because of an expected recovery of backyard farms," Mr. Valenzuela said.

Even though there is a projected shortfall in production, Mr. Lim said current supply should be enough to meet local demand because of a shortfall in demand felt by the sector this year.

"There is also a shortfall in demand for pork, which is a good thing because of the shortfall in our production. Supply is sufficient for the local demand and we won’t be needing any imports at present," Mr. Lim said.

Hog production slightly increased by 0.35% to 455,480 metric tons (MT) in the first quarter from 453,890 MT in the same period last year, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) show.

The nearly flat performance was due to "lower stocks of fatteners and tight supply of piglets" in the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions, BAS said.

Hog production inched up by 1.07% to 1.88 million MT in 2009 from 1.86 million MT the previous year, BAS said. But 2008 actually saw a production drop of 1.6%, a decline the government attributed to mortality due to hog cholera.

Phil. Gov’t bans imports of pork, poultry from S. Korea & Taiwan

From: Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=6281&src=2


THE GOVERNMENT has banned importation of pork from South Korea, as well as poultry and live birds from the same country and Taiwan, an Agriculture official said over the weekend.

Davinio P. Catbagan, director of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), said in a phone interview that the ban on pork, poultry products and live birds from South Korea was issued last Jan. 5, while the one on poultry and live birds from Taiwan was issued Jan. 26.
He attributed the ban to reports of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) as well as low-pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, in those economies.

Last Jan. 30, South Korea reported its sixth FMD case in a cattle farm north of Seoul.
The same country reported last Jan. 26 that tests conducted in December last year confirmed that about 26,000 ducks in a farm in Seosan City were infected with the H5 strain of bird flu.
Taiwan, on the other hand, reported on Jan. 21 that 7,000 chickens in a farm in Changhua County, Taiwan died of the virus.

Last year, the Philippines imported 114.36 million kilograms of pork, 7.6% of which came from South Korea. But the Philippines does not import poultry or poultry products from either South Korea or Taiwan.

BAI data show that the local livestock sector lost about P2.3 billion to FMD between 1995-2005. The country has not had any reported case of the disease since then.

The Philippines has a pending application with the World Organization for Animal Health for "FMD-free without vaccination" status for Luzon -- the remaining part of the country without such certification.

Philippine government bans German poultry

As a result of an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza, the government of the Philippines has temporarily banned imports of live birds and poultry products from Germany, as well as fromt the village of Saint Aubin du Plain in France.

The directive said the ban covers domestic and wild birds, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from the two areas.

On 16 November, France reported an outbreak in a duck farm in St. Aubin du Plain. The same influenza strain was detected in a bird farm in the state of Thuringen in Germany on 19 November.

"There is a need to prevent the entry of the low-pathogenic avian influenza virus to protect the health of the local poultry population," the orders read. "The department will immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of veterinary quarantine clearance to import the above-stated commodities."

The department also said it has set up more than 625 avian influenza task forces, while conducting community-based workshops in a bid to raise public awareness over the risks still posed by the avian influenza virus, despite the higher profile taken by A(H1N1) due to the pandemic.

In 2008, the Philippines imported 994,275 kg of poultry and poultry products worth $1.090 mln from France, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics show.

H1N1 flu found in South Korean pigs

South Korea confirmed that pigs infected with H1N1 flu have been found at domestic farms.

Infections were confirmed at five pig farms in Gyeonggi and North Gyeongsang provinces, the agriculture ministry said.

'For the first time we confirmed the presence of H1N1 flu in locally-raised pigs. We have... restricted movement of pigs in the areas,' a ministry spokesman told AFP.

The ministry has also found infections of the (A)H1N1 virus among pigs imported on November 11 from Canada, he said. An investigation is still under way to determine whether infections have spread from humans to pigs, it said.

'The virus appeared to have spread from humans to pigs,' Konkuk University veterinary professor Ryu Yong-Soo told Yonhap news agency.

Ministry officials, however, say pork is safe to eat as people cannot get flu from eating pork or pork products. A total of 117 people with the virus have died in South Korea.

Philippines: Lower demand, less processing

WorldPoultry.net
http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/philippines-lower-demand-less-processing-4660.html


The Philippine meat processing industry expects its 2009 production volume to drop by 20% from 2008, reports Asian Agribusiness Group.
While volume is down, higher prices will still mean a growth in sales, albeit a small one at less that 10%, said Francisco Buencamino, Executive Director of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc (PAMPI).

PAMPI had earlier aimed for an 8-10% increase in sales this year, but Buencamino said that “lower purchasing power of Filipinos” has dampened demand which led to lower volumes. He also said that the industry's imports of meat raw materials dropped by as much as 28%.

Pork exports probably no picnic in June and beyond: USDA

By Rita Jane Gabbett on 7/20/2009
MeatingPlace.com

Pork exports in May, at about 307 million pounds, were 36 percent below May 2008 exports, with Japan importing 15 percent less, Mexico importing 3 percent less and Russia importing 1 percent less than a year ago, according to USDA.

But it's likely that May exports — particularly to Mexico and Russia — did not register the full negative impacts of H1N1-related slowdowns in demand for U.S. pork, given that the disease did not come to the world's attention until late April, according to USDA's monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report.

"Normal lags in exporting U.S. pork products ordered before consumers became aware of the disease likely prevented the full demand effects of the disease from being felt until well beyond May," USDA warned.

Meanwhile, U.S. packers and swine finishers imported 36 percent fewer live swine from Canada in May than a year ago. "In general, country-of-origin labeling and an ongoing industry contraction in Canada are the key factors limiting U.S. live swine imports," the report stated.

Production and prices

USDA forecast lower pork production and lower prices for the balance of this year. Third-quarter commercial production is estimated at 5.47 billion pounds, almost 3 percent below a year ago, while fourth-quarter production is expected to be 6 billion pounds, or almost 2 percent below last year.

USDA forecasted third-quarter hog prices will average between $44 and $46 per hundredweight, down about 21 percent from a year ago. Fourth-quarter prices are expected to average between $39 and $41 per hundredweight, nearly 5 percent below last year. In 2010, prices are expected to average between $46 and $50 per hundredweight, almost 13 percent above 2009 prices.