Asia

3 Global Disease Pressures Impacting Livestock Producers

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:12:08 GMT

Tariffs and disease—the two words that strike fear into every livestock farmer and stakeholder. Even as trade talks continue, the U.S. is on high alert to make sure several foreign animal disease (FAD) threats stay outside U.S. borders.

African swine fever spreads in Europe and China

On Sept. 9, a case of African swine fever (ASF) was found by Belgian authorities, after three adult wild boars were found dead near the southern village of Étalle, in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. In total, eight infected wild pigs have been found. No cases of disease had been found on commercial pig farms, officials said.

As of press time, China has reported nearly 20 cases of African swine fever (ASF) since July, affecting eight provinces. China has banned transportation of live hog and pig products in 16 regions to help contain the disease spread. The affected areas include the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Jilin, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei and Shaanxi as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the city of Shanghai.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs says the country’s sow herd, as of August 2018, is 4.8% smaller than a year ago. The sow herd declined just over 1% from the month prior.

The largest portion of the Chinese pig herd rests in the central part of the country. The ban has interrupted supply channels at every level, report many farmers. The Liaoning providence in the northeast exports nearly 20% of its pigs each year to the southern part of the country, under normal conditions. While hog supplies are accumulating in the north with no market access, hog prices in the southern providences have soared.

Pork prices in the Zhejiang province have increased 23% since the outbreak, due to the transportation ban. Complicating pork price disruptions even further is China’s trade war with the U.S. Pork makes up about two-thirds of China’s meat consumption.

Other cases of the disease have been found in Romania this year.

ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease that produces a wide range of clinical signs and lesions. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, but does not affect human health.

Classical Swine Fever resurfaces in Japan after 26 years

Also known as hog cholera, Classical Swine fever , was identified Sept. 9th on a farm located at Gifu Prefecture, in the central area of Japan, killing 80 pigs. The last CSF outbreak in Japan was in 1992. In 2007, the use of vaccination was banned and disease eradication was declared.

While the Gifu Prefecture is not a major area of swine production, it’s only 500 miles from the south region, the highest pig-dense area.

Unrelated to ASF cases in China, CSF does present similar clinical symptoms with mortality rates of nearly 100%. Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) says the remaining 610 pigs on the farm were culled to contain the outbreak and no clear origin of the infection has been found. Additional testing continues. Commercial vaccines are available for the control of CSF.

Exports have been suspended until Japan’s veterinary services can determine if control measures are sufficient.

Japan is also still recovering from the 2013-2016 porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) epidemenic , reports SHIC. On July 9, 2018, USDA-APHIS had published the official notice of the OIE recognition of Japan as free-CSF. Currently, Japan is one of the Top 10 pork-producing countries in the world.

Foot and mouth disease continues to torment China, South Korean farmers

ASF isn’t the only disease China’s Ministry of Agriculture is struggling to contain. An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in a herd of cattle was found Sept. 6, and later confirmed diagnosis of the O-type strain of the disease Sept. 14.

The cattle had been transported to the Xinjiang region from Gansu province. Local authorities in Xinjiang culled 47 cattle following the outbreak. The outbreak is now under control, the Chinese ministry said.

However, this is the eighth case of the O-type strain found in livestock in China this year. In August, China culled 173 pigs due to FMD.

South Korea has also seen reports of the disease this year. In both countries, there is extensive vaccination for the disease, but the efficacy of the vaccine and the compliance to the vaccination regime can vary widely.

Leaders advise U.S. farmers to review farm biosecurity plans

All of these threats underline the need for U.S. producers and feed suppliers to review and increase biosecurity protocols to keep disease threats from affecting the U.S. herd.

Dave Pyburn, DVM, vice president of science and technology for the Pork Checkoff, advises producers to review the Foreign Animal Disease Checklist at pork.org/FAD . “By going through the items on this list, you can improve your biosecurity plan and prepare to register for the voluntary Secure Pork Supply plan, which will help participants maintain business continuity in the event of a FAD,” he says.

According to Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, losses from ASF could total as much as $8 billion for the pork industry in year one alone. That doesn’t include related losses of $4 billion and $1.5 billion for the affected input commodities of corn and soybeans, respectively.

“Keeping trade-limiting foreign animal diseases, such as ASF, out of the U.S. is critical to pork producers,” said Steve Rommereim, National Pork Board president and a producer from Alcester, South Dakota. “We all need to improve the overall level of FAD preparedness. We hope for the best, but we must prepare for the worst.”

Producers hope a FAD vaccine bank, included the current draft of the next farm bill, will help provide additional resources. Funding of the vaccine bank, however is unclear .

For example, NPPC anticipates the U.S. will need an inventory of 10 million doses of FMD vaccine, the estimated need for the first two weeks of a potential outbreak. The vaccine bank would also need to store FMD antigen against all 23 of the most common types of the disease. Read more by clicking the image below:

Soaring Freight Costs Will Squeeze Traders, Boost Food Prices

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:49:09 GMT

It’s getting more expensive to transport commodities around the world, threatening to squeeze profits for global traders and raise food prices.

The Baltic Dry Index, a benchmark of shipping rates, surged 73 percent in 2017 to a four-year high because of a slowdown in new bulk freight capacity. More than 85 percent of global trade in grains and oilseeds is transported by dry-bulk carriers, according to Rabobank International.

Higher shipping costs will make agriculture goods from farther away less competitive and could push up food prices, the bank said in a report Monday. The United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization expects the world food bill to be the second-highest on record this year, driven by more expensive freight and rising demand for foodstuffs.

Baltic Dry Index up 73% this year.

© Bloomberg

“Higher global freight rates are expected to have an increasing influence on grains and oilseed trade dynamics and trade flows in 2018 as the cost of dry-bulk sea freight increases,” Rabobank said in an emailed statement.

Asia, a major grain importer, will be especially affected because of long distances and reliance on dry-bulk carriers to bring in food staples. Australia’s close position will boost competitiveness in Asian markets, while other suppliers in South America, the U.S. and countries in the Black Sea region face pressure, Rabobank said.

Growth in demand for dry-bulk shippers is likely to surpass supply in the next two years, leading charter rates to rise 10 to 20 percent. Higher oil prices are also making bunker fuel more expensive.

“Importers may also opt to pass the rising freight costs to customers,” Rabobank said. “Consumers should be ready to face increasing food prices.”

JBS to Pay $1.3 Billion for Primo as China Pork Tariffs Fall

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 03:27:22 GMT

JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat producer, said it plans to increase exports to Asia after paying $1.3 billion to buy Primo Group, the largest producer of ham and bacon in Australia and New Zealand.

JBS will also use the deal to produce more higher-cost processed foods, the Sao Paulo-based company’s Australian unit said in an e-mailed statement. Separately, JBS said yesterday it agreed to buy a Brazilian poultry business for $146.5 million.

Buying Primo gives JBS an opportunity to take advantage of pork demand in China which has led to a four-fold increase in imports of the meat since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Australia currently exports minimal quantities of pork to the world’s biggest consumer of the meat because of the lack of certification for local products and tariffs of as much as 20 percent that will be removed by 2018 due to a free-trade agreement announced between Canberra and Beijing this week.

“People have money and therefore they’ll demand more high- quality meat,” Zhangyue Zhou, a business professor at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, said by phone. Changing tastes will also support Australian exports as urban residents show more interest in “products like bacon that Chinese people don’t normally eat,” he said.

Pork makes up more than two-thirds of meat consumption in China, thanks to historical difficulties in transporting beef and lamb that made it and poultry the most affordable meats, he said.

Rising Demand
Demand is already increasing in China, which makes up about half of the global pig herd, and the country may account for more than 75 percent of worldwide pork-consumption growth during the next five years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Securing certification of abattoirs and improving the export supply chain will be necessary to take advantage of the reduced trade tariffs, Emily Mackintosh, a spokeswoman for industry body Australian Pork Ltd., said by phone after the announcement.

“JBS is the logical owner of Primo,” Brett Sutton, head of Australia and New Zealand for the target’s controlling shareholder Affinity Equity Partners, said in the statement. “Primo will be positioned for even stronger growth over the longer term” as part of JBS.

Affinity, the private equity firm which in August paid $291 million for a stake in Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd.’s frequent-flier program, will sell its 70.1 percent share of the closely-held producer of packaged meats as part of the deal. It bought the stake in 2011.

JBS shares were little changed at 10:19 a.m. in Sao Paulo.

In a Brazilian regulatory filing yesterday, JBS said its Foods unit agreed to pay $169 million for all shares in AMSE02 Participacoes Ltda., owner of Grupo Big Frango which slaughters about 460,000 birds a day and has annual sales of more than $397 million.

USMEF: Will African Swine Fever Have a Significant Impact in China?

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 03:10:18 GMT

In early August, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reported the country’s first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF). Three subsequent outbreaks – all in separate provinces – have occurred since that time. With China being by far the world’s largest pork-producing and pork-consuming country, ASF’s entry into China is certainly an issue of major concern for China’s massive pork industry.

Joel Haggard, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) senior vice president for the Asia Pacific region, says it is too soon to know whether ASF will have a lasting impact on China’s pork production or its need for imported pork.

Just over a decade ago, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) greatly hampered China’s hog production, but Haggard adds that China’s pork industry has modernized significantly and biosecurity measures have improved. He also states that industry analysts now have better access to market information in China, making ASF’s impact on hog production and market fundamentals easier to monitor. Click below for his weekly audio report.

Japan Bacon Festival Doubles Down on Pork

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:08:44 GMT

The 2nd annual Japan Bacon Festival is back with double the bacon! Organizers of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Iowa are returning to Japan to cohost the event. The “Bacon Wars: The Pork Loin Strikes Back” theme showcases the addition of pork loin on the menus, with donated products from Smithfield.

“Sharing our insane passion for pork with other cultures inspires us. We love seeing how their unique perspectives lead to both using and celebrating pork in ways we’ve never dreamed.” Says Brooks Reynolds, co-founder of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival and Chairman of the Iowa Bacon Board.

The event will also double the space and move from one to two days. The event will be Sept. 29 and 30 in two adjacent parks outside Kofu Central Station.

Highlights:

Free bacon samples from Jones Dairy Farms and Berkwood Farms
Bacon and pork loin-inspired cuisine by over 20 local restaurants
Live entertainment
A Japan Bacon Queen Pageant
A bacon eating contest
A bacon themed bike ride
Chef awards for the best use of bacon and best use of pork loin
International pork fellowship

The inaugural Japan Bacon Festival took place on Nov. 3, 2017, attracting more than 10,000 bacon-loving participants and sparking nation-wide media coverage across Japan. The festival is a result of an ongoing collaboration between the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival and Junior Chamber International Kofu (JCIK) with the goal of celebrating the Iowa Hog Lift - a historic humanitarian effort that took place in 1959. Japan had been devastated by two huge typhoons, and Iowa’s response was to airlift 36 breeding hogs and ship 100,000 bu. of corn to help with the recovery effort. The initiative is credited with setting the stage for Iowa and Yamanashi becoming Sister States by formal agreement, opening markets in Japan for U.S. goods and services, and initiating agricultural cooperator programs between the U.S. and Japan.

3 Global Disease Pressures Impacting Livestock Producers

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:07:48 GMT

Tariffs and disease—the two words that strike fear into every livestock farmer and stakeholder. Even as trade talks continue, the U.S. is on high alert to make sure several foreign animal disease (FAD) threats stay outside U.S. borders.

African swine fever spreads in Europe and China

On Sept. 9, a case of African swine fever (ASF) was found by Belgian authorities, after three adult wild boars were found dead near the southern village of Étalle, in the Belgian province of Luxembourg. In total, eight infected wild pigs have been found. No cases of disease had been found on commercial pig farms, officials said.

As of press time, China has reported nearly 20 cases of African swine fever (ASF) since July, affecting eight provinces. China has banned transportation of live hog and pig products in 16 regions to help contain the disease spread. The affected areas include the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Jilin, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei and Shaanxi as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the city of Shanghai.

This map shows the locations of the first 11 cases of African Swine Fever, as of Sept. 11, 2018. Since then, additional cases have emerged. China’s swine-dense population is located in the central part of the country.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs says the country’s sow herd, as of August 2018, is 4.8% smaller than a year ago. The sow herd declined just over 1% from the month prior.

The largest portion of the Chinese pig herd rests in the central part of the country. The ban has interrupted supply channels at every level, report many farmers. The Liaoning providence in the northeast exports nearly 20% of its pigs each year to the southern part of the country, under normal conditions. While hog supplies are accumulating in the north with no market access, hog prices in the southern providences have soared.

Pork prices in the Zhejiang province have increased 23% since the outbreak, due to the transportation ban. Complicating pork price disruptions even further is China’s trade war with the U.S. Pork makes up about two-thirds of China’s meat consumption.

Other cases of the disease have been found in Romania this year.

ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease that produces a wide range of clinical signs and lesions. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease, but does not affect human health.

Classical Swine Fever resurfaces in Japan after 26 years

Also known as hog cholera, Classical Swine fever , was identified Sept. 9th on a farm located at Gifu Prefecture, in the central area of Japan, killing 80 pigs. The last CSF outbreak in Japan was in 1992. In 2007, the use of vaccination was banned and disease eradication was declared.

While the Gifu Prefecture is not a major area of swine production, it’s only 500 miles from the south region, the highest pig-dense area.

Unrelated to ASF cases in China, CSF does present similar clinical symptoms with mortality rates of nearly 100%. Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) says the remaining 610 pigs on the farm were culled to contain the outbreak and no clear origin of the infection has been found. Additional testing continues. Commercial vaccines are available for the control of CSF.

Exports have been suspended until Japan’s veterinary services can determine if control measures are sufficient.

Japan is also still recovering from the 2013-2016 porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) epidemenic , reports SHIC. On July 9, 2018, USDA-APHIS had published the official notice of the OIE recognition of Japan as free-CSF. Currently, Japan is one of the Top 10 pork-producing countries in the world.

Foot and mouth disease continues to torment China, South Korean farmers

ASF isn’t the only disease China’s Ministry of Agriculture is struggling to contain. An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in a herd of cattle was found Sept. 6, and later confirmed diagnosis of the O-type strain of the disease Sept. 14.

The cattle had been transported to the Xinjiang region from Gansu province. Local authorities in Xinjiang culled 47 cattle following the outbreak. The outbreak is now under control, the Chinese ministry said.

However, this is the eighth case of the O-type strain found in livestock in China this year. In August, China culled 173 pigs due to FMD.

South Korea has also seen reports of the disease this year. In both countries, there is extensive vaccination for the disease, but the efficacy of the vaccine and the compliance to the vaccination regime can vary widely.

Leaders advise U.S. farmers to review farm biosecurity plans

All of these threats underline the need for U.S. producers and feed suppliers to review and increase biosecurity protocols to keep disease threats from affecting the U.S. herd.

Dave Pyburn, DVM, vice president of science and technology for the Pork Checkoff, advises producers to review the Foreign Animal Disease Checklist at pork.org/FAD . “By going through the items on this list, you can improve your biosecurity plan and prepare to register for the voluntary Secure Pork Supply plan, which will help participants maintain business continuity in the event of a FAD,” he says.

According to Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, losses from ASF could total as much as $8 billion for the pork industry in year one alone. That doesn’t include related losses of $4 billion and $1.5 billion for the affected input commodities of corn and soybeans, respectively.

“Keeping trade-limiting foreign animal diseases, such as ASF, out of the U.S. is critical to pork producers,” said Steve Rommereim, National Pork Board president and a producer from Alcester, South Dakota. “We all need to improve the overall level of FAD preparedness. We hope for the best, but we must prepare for the worst.”

Producers hope a FAD vaccine bank, included the current draft of the next farm bill, will help provide additional resources. Funding of the vaccine bank, however is unclear .

For example, NPPC anticipates the U.S. will need an inventory of 10 million doses of FMD vaccine, the estimated need for the first two weeks of a potential outbreak. The vaccine bank would also need to store FMD antigen against all 23 of the most common types of the disease. Read more by clicking the image below: