Page 838 of articles about news

Fresh and frozen meat imports to Russia were down 30.6% to 399.2 thousand tons in January – May 2009 in comparison with the same period last year, Federal Customs Service (FCS) said in its report.

The Brazilian government is preparing the creation of a fund that will guarantee the survival of the agroalimentary sector. The objective is for the Bank of Brazil (70% of the shares are owned by the government) to manage the fund, since the bank has a long tradition of giving credit to the rural sector. The value of the fund would be 3,350 million euros.

The costs of producing piglets and pork in the Netherlands have come down over the last six months. Producing a piglet in July 2009 costs €50.09, whereas producing 1 kg of pork costs €1.59.

The Brazilian association of Swine Livestock Breeders has proposed to begin a 3-year campaign to stimulate and increase pig meat consumption in Brazil. One of the main points to deal with in the campaign will be to break the myth about the fat content of pig meat compared to other meats.

A joint industry and government working group has been set up to advise on how best to develop the body which will oversee responsibility and cost sharing. The group has been established in response to calls from the farming industry for it to have a greater say in the development of animal health policy, something which the government has long been committed to.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and its Mexican counterpart, SENASICA, have established a uniform, bilateral protocol to address listing, relisting and making administrative changes for U.S. meat processing plants exporting to Mexico.

Energy crops can become the new partners in organic pig farming. Tentative results from trials with free-ranging pigs look promising.

Prepared by the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) the Strategic Transition Plan provides guidance on a number of pressing issues that must be urgently addressed if the Canadian hog and pork sector is to have a viable future.

Denmark is no longer the largest supplier of pork to Poland. Germany has overtaken it following a 52 percent surge in the first quarter of this year. Germany and Denmark account for two-thirds of Polish pork imports.

Manitoba’s hog producers will now have access to a Targeted Advance Payment (TAP) under the AgriStability program, Federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk announced.

The EU’s food industry is not excluded from today’s economic downturn. To give this important industry sector fresh impetus, European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen and Commissioners Mariann Fischer Boel and Meglena Kuneva, yesterday discussed with stakeholders the follow up to the recommendations of the High level Group, which were issued on 17 th March 2009.

The Agriculture and Food Council’s recently published prognosis on pig meat prices and earnings in pig production indicates stability for the rest of current year and for next year as well. The significant fluctuations, which we have seen during the last six months, will ease off. The current expectations are stable compared to the announcement as of March 2009.

Although live pig prices have rebounded recently, supply will continue to exceed demand in the live pig market for some time, according to an analysis by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The federal government has made changes to its eligibility criteria for the Circovirus Inoculation Program. Applicants deemed to be part of a verifiable production flow will now receive compensation for the vaccination of sows.

Brazil’s 2009 pork exports are up 8 percent to 217,440 MT, valued at US$450 million, a decrease of 16 percent. The drop in value of both beef and pork exports is partially related to the devaluation of the Brazilian real compared to early 2008. Exports to Russia, also the top destination for Brazilian pork, increased by 20 percent to 111,796 MT and accounted for over half of Brazil’s export volume. Hong Kong is also a growth market for Brazilian pork, with exports up 20 percent to 41,518 MT.

In order to support and to improve the control and eradication measures as regards CSF in domestic pigs, EFSA was requested by the Commission to provide scientific advice on the safety of fresh meat (freedom from field virus) derived from vaccinated pigs. Specifically, two terms of reference were given: a) what is the risk that wild-type CSF virus is present in fresh meat obtained from pigs vaccinated in an emergency situation during an outbreak?; and b) what are the sampling schemes and testing procedures needed to detect field virus in fresh meat derived from such vaccinated pigs?