Page 197 of articles about markets-economics in Swine news

First forecasts for the 2013 wheat harvest point to production increasing to 690 million tonnes - 4.3 percent up on 2012.

The Commission is publishing today its short-term market outlook for arable crop, meat and dairy markets in the EU. The EU pig meat production is expected to decline in 2013 (-2%).

Pork exports for the year as a whole were up seven per cent, with most of the growth in the second half of the year, after the Chinese market was opened.

The total production of cereals in the EU-27 is estimated as 287.6 million tons, with an increase by 5.6% with respect to the 2012 harvest.

Farmers’ cooperatives play an important role in helping farmers to capture a larger share of value added in the food supply chain.

In 2012 the fresh meat consumption fell by 1.8%, whilst the consumption of cold cuts rised by 2.5%.

Hams will be liberalised after 5 years. Exports of wines & spirits, pork products and olive oil will also benefit from preferential access.

Last year (2012), the slaughtering of pigs raised by almost 12% in Argentina.

The undersupply of protein feed and the high import demand for it are long-standing issues in the EU where the rate of self-sufficiency amounts only to about 33%.

The total pig meat exports in 2012 were 3,130,291 tons, which means a drop by 1.9% with respect to year 2011.

Specifically, in the case of pork, in 2012 the production was almost 5.5 million tons: 2.5% less than in 2011 (-140,700 tons).

During last year (2012), the pig meat exports reached a record value of US$ 538 million.

The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 176 in January, down marginally from December. Quotations of all meat categories were generally stable, although a slight weakening in poultry and pig meat prices was evident.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will aim to go beyond the classic approach of removing tariffs and opening markets on investment, services and public procurement.

The AgriMarketing Program is designed to help industry improve its capacity to adopt assurance systems, such as food safety and traceability, to meet consumer and market demands.

In December 2012, swine inventories totaled to 11.1 million head, a 15 percent drop in comparison to the same period of previous year.