Meat + Poultry - April 2006 - 18

International News & Trends
Poultry exports to rise in second half of 2006
U.S. broiler exports for 2006 are expected to be up 3 percent from 2005,
with most of the increase occurring in
the second half of the year, according to
the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service's Livestock, Dairy
and Poultry Outlook report. Broiler exports are forecast
to resume growth
as concerns about
eating
poultry
subside in those
countries where
highly pathogenic avian influenza
has occurred and
low prices encourage price-sensitive
markets to increase purchases.
High U.S. broiler meat inventories
have made markets more competitive,
depressing leg-quarter prices. In 2005,
fourth-quarter broiler exports were
1,286 million pounds, down 14 percent, due to a sharp decline in December exports. December 2005 broiler
exports totaled 326 million pounds,

a 29 percent decline from December
2004. Most of the sharp declines in
shipments came from Russia, the largest importer of U.S. broiler meat.
January broiler exports were 426
million pounds, down 3 percent from
last year. The primary reason for these
low shipments is the drop in exports
to countries such as Ukraine, Turkey
and Georgia, where concerns about
H.P.A.I. may have reduced consumer
demand. As consumers become more
informed about A.I., how it is transmitted, and how to handle and cook
broiler meat, low broiler prices are
expected to entice price-sensitive consumers to buy more chicken.
Turkey exports totaled 37 million
pounds in January, down 11 percent
from the previous year. The decline
is attributed to a substitution effect
caused by low leg-quarter prices, according to the E.R.S. Mexico appears
to have reduced its demand for U.S.
turkey meat, while expanding its demand for broiler meat.

Worldwide B.S.E. incidences on the decline
Amid the current international
alarm over avian flu, there is evidence indicating the battle against
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
is being won. B.S.E. cases worldwide are declining, according to
the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, dropping at the rate of
some 50 percent a year over the
past three years.
In 2005, just 474 animals died of
B.S.E. around the world, compared
with 878 in 2004 and 1646 in 2003,
and against a peak of several tens
of thousands in 1992, according to
figures collected by the Paris-based
World Animal Health Organization.

Only five human deaths resulting
from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, believed to be the human form
of B.S.E., were reported worldwide
in 2005. All of them were in the
United Kingdom, the country most
affected by the disease, where nine
deaths were registered in 2004 and
18 in 2003.
"It is quite clear that B.S.E. is
declining and that the measures
introduced to stop the disease are
effective," said Andrew Speedy,
an FAO animal production expert.
"But further success depends on
our continuing to apply those measures worldwide."

In 2005, Mexico accounted for
more than 60 percent of U.S. turkey
shipments. Fourth-quarter 2005 turkey exports were 149 million pounds,
up 12 percent from the previous year.
One of the chief reasons for the increase has been growth in the Mexican economy.

Maple Leaf Foods to sell
Garden Province Meats
Officials with Maple Leaf Foods,
Inc., have announced the company is
selling its 51 percent share of Garden
Province Meats to a group of pork
and beef producers on Prince Edward Island. Maple Leaf executives
say they are selling because it has
been unable to make
the operation profitable since taking over
as majority owners in
1994. According to
published reports in
Canada, Maple Leaf
will sell its interest in
the Charlottetown, P.E.I.-based plant
for one dollar, the same price it paid
for the shares in 1994.
While the producers will own the
facility, they are currently looking
for other parties to run the facility.
Meanwhile, a transition team has been
formed and is calling for proposals
from companies or individuals interested in making the plant into a profitable business. Some of those proposals may include plans for the production of natural or organic pork.
In a CBC News story, Gordy Lank, a
director with Garden Province Meats,
said hog and beef producers face a
challenge because the company has
lost money nearly every year since it
opened 20 years ago.

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Meat + Poultry - April 2006

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