World Grain - December 2020 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

Meat, feed industries
face long, difficult road

T

he meat consumption arrow in recent
years had been consistently pointing
upward as a growing global middle
class was choosing to spend a portion of
its increased income on " luxury " food
LWHPVVXFKDVEHHIFKLFNHQSRUNDQG¿VK
Just when it seemed like nothing could
derail this surge in meat-based protein demand, along came COVID-19 and with it
a much bleaker outlook for the worldwide
meat industry and, consequently, the aniPDOIHHGVHFWRU
While the grain-based foods industry
has seen an uptick in demand for its products during the now 11-month-old pandemic, global meat consumption is headLQJLQWKHRSSRVLWHGLUHFWLRQ
In the United States, for instance, meat
consumption is projected to drop for the
¿UVW WLPH VLQFH  7KH 8QLWHG 1Dtions' Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) estimates global meat production
ZLOO IDOO E\ QHDUO\  LQ  GXH WR
animal diseases, COVID-19-related marNHW GLVUXSWLRQV DQG WKH OLQJHULQJ H൵HFWV
RIGURXJKWV
Don Close, a veteran animal protein
analyst for Rabobank, recently described
the consequences facing the meat and
feed industries from the worst global panGHPLFLQ\HDUVGXULQJDSUHVHQWDWLRQ
sponsored by the American Feed IndusWU\$VVRFLDWLRQ
" I venture to say this has been the most
dynamic year and we have seen more
ground-breaking changes in global meat
WUDGHWKDQ,UHFDOOLQP\FDUHHU´KHVDLG
" I think the fallout from this one is going
WRODVWDORQJWLPH´
While no one knows how long, it's
safe to say a full recovery to " normal "
ZLOOOLNHO\WDNH\HDUVUDWKHUWKDQPRQWKV
Close said analysts at various banks believe it will take eight full quarters (two
years) for the restaurant business in the
United States to be restored to its pre-CO9,' OHYHOV $V RI 6HSWHPEHU DERXW
6

EDITORIAL STAFF

86UHVWDXUDQWVKDGSHUPDQHQWO\
closed due to the pandemic, according to
WKH1DWLRQDO5HVWDXUDQW$VVRFLDWLRQDQG
the Independent Restaurant Association
HVWLPDWHVWKDWXSWRRILQGHSHQGHQW
UHVWDXUDQWV ZKLFK FRPSULVH  RI DOO
US restaurants, could close by the end of
 LI &RQJUHVV IDLOV WR SDVV D VHFRQG
HFRQRPLFVWLPXOXVSDFNDJH
Even if the restaurant business hadn't
been negatively impacted, the unparalleled spike in unemployment and lost
wages worldwide has meant a loss in
spending power for more expensive food
LWHPVVXFKDVVWHDNDQG¿VK
Alltech's annual feed survey, which
estimates global feed output and breaks
it down by country and region, will be
released in late January and it will be interesting to see how the pandemic - not
to mention African swine fever, which
has ravaged hog populations in several
dozen countries - has impacted worldZLGHRXWSXW/DVW\HDU¶VVXUYH\UHYHDOHG
WKH¿UVWGHFOLQHLQJOREDOIHHGSURGXFWLRQ
LQQLQH\HDUVDQGDELJJHUVOLGH
LQRXWSXWLQLVDOPRVWFHUWDLQ$KLQW
of what the Alltech numbers may reveal
was provided by the European Compound
Feed Manufacturers Federation in early
1RYHPEHUZKHQLWHVWLPDWHG(8IHHGSURGXFWLRQKDGIDOOHQE\LQ
7KDQNIXOO\LWDSSHDUVDWOHDVWWZRYDFcines will soon be available, hopefully
bringing an end to this
devestating pandemic
that has infected more
than 56 million people
DQG NLOOHG QHDUO\ 
PLOOLRQ
ZRUOGZLGH
Even so, it appears the
road back to " normal " for the animal protein and feed industries will be neither
VKRUWQRUVPRRWK
Arvin Donley
Editor

Editor
Arvin Donley
Managing Editor
Eric Schroeder
Associate Editor
Susan Reidy
Digital Media Associate Editor Holly Saddler
European Correspondent
Chris Lyddon
China Consultant
Fengcheng Wang
PUBLISHING STAFF
Publisher
Dan Flavin
Audience Development
Director
Michael Barbee
Audience Development Analyst Dustin Pickman
Audience Database Specialist Lindsey Sheridan
Audience Development Coordinator Carlea Schuler
Director of Digital Media
Jon Hall
Digital Advertising Manager
Carrie Fluegge
Advertising Manager
Nora Wages
Advertising Coordinator
Kayley Kerns
Design Services Manager
Elisabeth Spillman
Graphic Designer
Brian Peterman
Production Specialist
Marj Potts
Promotions Manager
Jim White
CORPORATE
Chairman and CEO
Charles Sosland
President
L. Joshua Sosland
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Staci Greco
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
Meyer Sosland
Chief Marketing Officer
Jim Saladin
___________________________
Morton I. Sosland 1925-2019

WORLD GRAIN (ISSN 0745-8991) Volume 38, issue 12,

is published monthly by Sosland Publishing Company,
4801 Main Street, Suite 650, Kansas City, MO 64112 U.S.
Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, MO 64108 U.S. and
additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WORLD GRAIN,
PO Box 3001, Northbrook IL 60065-9743. ©2020 Sosland
Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the
whole or any part of the contents without written permission
is prohibited. WORLD GRAIN assumes no responsibility for
the validity of claims in items reported. Sosland Publishing
Company is a division of Sosland Companies. Inc.
Editorial and advertising inquiries should be directed to our
world headquarters at 4801 Main St., Suite 650,
Kansas City, Missouri 64112 U.S. Tel: 1-816-756-1000,
Fax: 1-816-756-0494 or E-mail worldgrain@sosland.com.
Requests for reprints of articles should be sent to
reprints@sosland.com or call 1-816-756-1000.
© 2020 Sosland Publishing Company. Reproduction of the whole or
any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
All information is published in good faith. While care is taken to
prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors
or omissions or for the consequences of any action taken on the
basis of information published.

December 2020 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - December 2020
