Page 270 of articles about markets-economics

Market mechanisms to limit price volatility and speculation in the European livestock sector should be introduced urgently, say MEPs, as farmers are suffering a major crisis, partly due to rising costs of feed material, particularly cereals, which could lead to a significant fall in EU meat production. A combination of factors, including higher production costs (fuel, fertilisers and feed), greater competition from third countries, low prices paid to farmers and the high cost of complying with EU environment, animal health , food safety and labour criteria, is putting at risk the EU livestock sector. Parliament approved on Thursday, by show of hands, a resolution listing a number of recommendations to help improve the situation.

According to the Argentine Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing, Lorenzo Basso, the decrease in cow meat has led to an increase in the consumption of pork meat.

The invoicing and commercialized volume of pork meat will decrease in 2010 and 2011, after 2009 when consumption increased, but sales value decreased.

The investment, as well as the mergers, made during the last 10 years have led to the creation of large groups of slaughterhouses, usually multi-species, that operate in different countries and often include processing activities. Danish Crown, a witness to the continuing changes in the European slaughterhouse sector and holder of the second place title in 2009, has been situated in first place after last October’s acquisition of the German company, D&S Fleisch.

The number of piglets exported during the first trimester of this year reached 1,6 million animals. This means that 100.000 more piglets were exported than in the third trimester of last year.

Business Secretary Vince Cable today signed an agreement worth many millions of pounds for the UK economy that will allow the export of British breeding pigs to China, home to half of the world’s pig population. Agreement has also been reached on health certification to allow a start to be made on the export of UK pigmeat to China.

Hunan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said that Hunan Province exported 10 tons of frozen fresh pork to Malaysia, which valued $ 47,800. It is the first time that China export frozen fresh pork to this country.

The Guelph based George Morris Centre estimates Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is costing the Canadian swine industry a minimum of 130 million dollars per year.

Pig meat production went down by 3,9 % year-on-year to 66187 tonnes. Numbers of slaughtered pigs decreased to 753.333 heads, i.e. by 4,6 % year-on-year, but numbers of slaughtered sows were by 13,7 % higher than in the 3rd quarter of the previous year. Deficit of foreign trade in pig meat exceeded 40 thousand tonnes. Import of live pigs went down year-on-year by 26,5 % (6.100 tonnes in total), whereas export rose by 81,2 % to 3.951 tonnes.

The headline grabber for 2009/10 is the doubling of pig gross margins - £40 per head compared with £20 in 2008/09.

This disease is costing the Canadian pork industry about 60 million dollars a year.