Australian Grains Industry Conference: Be wary of China reforms
Australian grain exporters will need to be wary of new disease and import standards in China as its Government starts to implement a range of revolutionary food safety and agriculture policy reforms.
That’s according to Beijing-based Chinese policy specialist Erlend Ek who spoke at yesterday’s Australian Grains Industry Conference in Melbourne.
Mr Ek, who is a researcher for China Policy, said Chinese media reported last month a shipment of Australian grain was stopped at a Chinese port due to new ergot standards which came into effect at the end of June.
Ergot is caused by a fungus, which besides reducing yields, can also be toxic to animals and humans.
Exports generally have a maximum tolerance level for any shipments which might harbour the ergot fungus.
Mr Ek said the Chinese government’s policy on food production was moving from being self sufficient to a more market-based approach where food quality and environmental concerns have become a priority.
“They are heading toward quality; they want to be seen as a quality producer,” Mr Ek said.
Mr Ek said as a result of the “massive changes” happening with food and agriculture policy in China, hundreds of new standards have been updated.
“They have just revised 6000 national standards for food,” he said.
“The ergot issue comes as a result of this.
“It was released 23 June and on 5 July there were reports that Australian ships were stopped (as a result of this standard).”
However sources have told The Weekly Times they were not aware of a shipment being stopped, and no Australian authorities had been told about an ergot issue with a grain shipment.
But they acknowledged ergot might be an issue in the future.
Other Chinese government changes includes the winding back of subsidies and price supports for local farmers, because price levels were well above global prices, Mr Ek said.
“Support and subsidy system is reaching its ceiling in its (World Trade Organisation) commitment moving away from market distortion and price support,” he said.
This was designed to make farmers more professional, and drive efficiency through the industry.
“China is at a critical stage of a transition from planned economy … toward a modern agriculture industry.
“(The government is saying) let’s make farming professional and more of an industry, and we need to allow other sectors to invest in agriculture.”
This will involve changing the current collective ownership structure of agricultural land, to allow companies and individuals to trade in the collective ownership of land.
This was expected to be confirmed at the Chinese government annual congress later this year.
However he said there was still opportunities for Australian agriculture these included providing grain exports, but quality standards would need to be met.
“Chinese production will hit 600 million tonnes by 2020, but and demand is expected to hit 700 million so they will need imports to make up (the difference,)” Mr Ek said.
“They imported about 105 million tonnes last year, and this year (imports) will hit 120 million tonnes, most of this is soybeans.”
Source: Weekly Times. Date: 2017-08-03
A winning formula? China invests in Canadian dairy to help feed its baby boom
Donald Trump called Canada's supply-managed dairy sector a "disgrace."
Indeed, Canada's strict system of production quotas, import restrictions and price and quality controls is a perennial target for free traders.
But guess who likes it? The biggest market Canada is wooing right now: China.
Supply management is a big reason why a Chinese corporation is investing an unprecedented $225 million in eastern Ontario. Feihe International, Inc. wants cows. Goats, too. Lots of them.
That's because as China's one-child policy phases out, it's going to need a lot of baby formula.
"It's one of the largest economic development projects in our city's history," said Kingston, Ont., mayor Bryan Paterson, calling Canada's largest-ever foreign investment in agri-food "off the charts."
"It might be out of the ordinary, but I think that's what was most exciting."
Feihe International Inc.'s future baby formula plant is now under construction on a 40-acre site in Kingston, Ont.'s Cataraqui Estates Business Park. (Feihe International Inc.)
The first concrete trucks are already pouring at the future site of a 28,000-square-metre infant formula plant. When the state-of-the-art facility opens in 2019, it will employ over 200 people in manufacturing and research jobs. Over a thousand more could come from its construction and eventual supply chains.
A small team of Chinese managers have moved to Kingston. Everyone else will be local.
Last winter, Feihe brought the mayor and a delegation from Kingston over to northeastern China for a tour of its factories and farms. Paterson was struck by how geographically similar it was to eastern Ontario.
With one big difference: scale.
A "typical rural village" they visited was three times the size of Kingston, he said.
"When you have millions and millions of babies, you need to be able to manufacture a lot of infant baby formula."
Bringing formula production back
Canada hasn't made its own baby formula for years. The Canadian Dairy Commission tried for a couple of years to find a domestic processor. Demand for butter was up, and baby formula uses the non-butterfat part of milk. But no Canadian processors were interested in expanding into formula.
The CDC broadened its search internationally, to European and Asian companies.
In Feihe, the CDC found its fit: a manufacturer with over 50 years of experience and keen to expand to North America.
Promotional materials describe Feihe as the top domestic manufacturer of cow's milk formula in China in 2016, with brands in over 100,000 retail outlets across that country — mostly in medium-sized cities where urbanization is expanding and the number of middle-class consumers is rising fast.
Business proposals obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act anticipate strong growth for China's formula market. Only one in four Chinese mothers breastfeed exclusively for their baby's first six months. The gradual phase-out of China's one-child policy is poised to spark a baby boom.
Delegations from Kingston, including this group seen last winter at Feihe International's Beijing head office, have been visiting China to discuss not only the new baby formula plant but future manufacturing and research projects. (Office of Mayor Bryan Paterson)
Roughly 85 per cent of the powdered formula made in Kingston could be shipped back to China.
But that's an awfully long boat ride. Why come all the way to Canada for milk?
Quality concerns
It's all about reputation.
In 2008, Chinese dairy products such as baby formula were discovered tainted with melamine. Hundreds of thousands became sick, and at least six children died. Since then, many Chinese distrust domestic milk and prefer foreign brands.
The world's top dairy producers have eyed China for years. But New Zealand's dominant dairy cooperative was a minority shareholder in Sanlu, the company at the heart of the melamine scandal.
Sagging global prices for milk are now forcing farms around the world out of business. Not so in Canada.
"I know that might sound silly for some people, but this is a good side of supply management," said Canadian Dairy Commission spokesperson Chantal Paul. "[The Chinese] know that they're going to have their supply."
Canada enjoys a lot of goodwill right now, and Justing Trudeau has a relatively high profile in China.
"New Zealand doesn't have [Norman] Bethune," quipped Carey Bidtnes from the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, a reference to the Canadian doctor who became famous in China in the late '30s.
Not enough goats
Feihe plans two production lines in Kingston, starting in 2019: one mixing and drying formula from cow's milk, a second with goat's milk.
Canada's marketing boards make supplying the cow's milk straightforward — demand in Eastern Canada's pool is expected to rise by about one per cent.
Supplying enough goat's milk is another story. But there's no supply management for goats. You could milk every one in Ontario and it still wouldn't fill Feihe's order.
Ontario's goat industry produces about 52 million litres annually. But that milk is already spoken for.
If Feihe wants 75 million litres, the industry must double or triple its size. In the short term, goat milk may be trucked in from Quebec or the U.S. Over time, Feihe wants to build up a local industry.
'Lots would love to expand'
It all spells opportunity for anyone frustrated by how expensive it is to get into the cattle business — milk goats instead.
That's Andy Jackson's strategy.
The young farmer from Winchester, Ont., said Ontario's goat industry today is where the cattle business was three or four decades ago. It needs to improve breeding and nutrition to boost production.
Surveying a converted barn full of Saanen and Nubian goats — milking breeds popular in Europe — Jackson described how he's reducing kid mortality and improving the quality of his milk.
Some Chinese investment has flopped, he knows. But his research suggests Feihe isn't a fly-by-night company.
"Hey, at the end of the day, whoever buys the product," he said.
He and his partner used to joke about wanting to expand from 300 to more than 2,000 goats within five years.
"With this plant coming into effect, that'll make that joke actually be able to happen," he said.
Source: CBC News. Date: 2017-08-03
Processing ban: China meat trade in limbo
Multi-million dollar exports of chilled and frozen beef and sheep meat to China still remain in limbo, a week after Chinese authorities slapped bans in six processing plants in Australia.
Temporary suspensions were made on exports from JBS’s Toowoomba and Scone plants, Thomas Food International’s facility at Murray Bridge in South Australia and Northern Co-operative Meat Company’s Casino processor, as well as plants run by Kilcoy Pastoral and Australian Country Choice in Queensland.
The Australian Meat Industry Council said the bans related to “labelling and trade description” of meat products.
AMIC chief executive officer Pat Hutchinson said China took product labelling issues very seriously as part of its food security.
“There are times when there are labelling issues, whether machine or human (error) or both,” he said. “China has said these occurrences have not met its satisfaction.”
AMIC said China was an important meat export market for Australia, shipping 160,000 tonnes of beef and sheep meat valued at about $970 million in 2015-16.
The suspensions related only to meat products loaded on ships from July 24.
Mr Hutchinson said it was not known how many tonnes of product shipped after this time were affected but it was most likely “small amounts”.
He said processors would have to find new buyers for product no longer going to China until the labelling issue was resolved.
Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said it was “a very significant situation” and the Government had “mobilised quickly” to engage Chinese authorities on the issue.
“We have tens of millions (of dollars) in trade affected — it could even be more than $100 million,” Mr Ciobo said.
One meat processor said the issue centred on “equivalence”, a clause in a trade agreement which allowed countries to agree their different technical regulations will achieve the same outcomes, to eliminate dubious trade barriers. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement came into force in December 2015.
The processor claimed ChAFTA did not have an equivalence clause, complicating resolution of the issue.
“It is a minor hiccup ... if this happened in the US, the issue would be able to be corrected with the exporter without any trading halts,” the processor said.
Source: The Weekly Times. Date: 2017-08-02
Hi-tech agriculture: a solution and a challenge
Vietnam has become known for its remarkable feat in becoming an agricultural powerhouse in a relatively short time, but it seems that the benefits accrued to farmers are not commensurate with the country’s comparative advantages and efforts.
Far reaching agricultural reforms over the past 30 years have provided farmers with ‘catalysts’ and motives to produce and earn their living in a market-driven, open economy, becoming self-reliant in the process.
These reforms have enabled significant achievements in export, food security and poverty reduction. However, recent studies have shown that agricultural growth has been slowing down and that added value created in the sector as well as benefits to farmers do not match the efforts made.
About 24 million workers, i.e. 25 per cent of the country’s population or about 45 percent of the country’s labour force, are engaged in agricultural production, but the sector has only contributed roughly 17 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and this has been decreasing for many years now.
The number of agricultural businesses makes up less than 1 per cent of total businesses in Việt Nam (4,000 out of 420,000 businesses nationwide). Loans provided to agricultural businesses also account for just 10 per cent of total outstanding loans in the banking system. These figures show agriculture has become significantly less attractive for investment.
While the gap between the current status of agricultural production and the new requirements for development is huge, the Vietnamese government is facing the pressure to reform the sector towards sustainable development accompanied by greater benefits to farmers.
In other words, we need a strong push, even a new revolution, in agricultural production. We need institutional reforms and big changes in the way business is done. Enterprises (with farmers) have to take centre stage and embark on hi-tech agriculture. Only then can agricultural production be connected strongly to all stakeholders, all stages of the value chain, and attach comparative advantages to economies of scale and market, ensure product quality and thereby creating high added value.
In March this year, the Government issued Resolution 30/NQ-CP which raised the credit package for hi-tech agriculture from VNĐ60 trillion to VNĐ100 trillion (US$4.4 billion), unprecedented in the history of the agriculture sector.
This is nearly half as much the stimulus package the Government launched to curb the economic recession in 2009, worth $9 billion.
After the Government’s decision, five to six banks have committed to disbursing a total of VNĐ120 trillion for hi-tech farming, with Agribank ready to lend VNĐ50 trillion. Other big lenders include Vietcombank, Vietinbank and LienVietPostBank. About VNĐ30-40 trillion have been disbursed so far.
In recent years, many businesses, including large corporations and financial institutions (banks and investment funds), have been investing in hi-tech agriculture, including VinGroup, Vinamilk, Hòa Phát Group and Masan Group.
It is worth noting that hi-tech agriculture must be based on market signals, reflecting both new demands and requirements that are appealing to businesses and investors.
Hi-tech agriculture is the cornerstone to satisfy new demand of consumers for ‘green,’ standardised and helpful products. Not only products, but the production process must be ‘green’ and meet recognised quality criteria and standards. These are important factors in penetrating both local and international markets, where the middle class is growing rapidly. Hi-tech agriculture is also the solution to minimising negative impacts and adapting better to climate change.
Policy challenges
The role of the State in reforming the agriculture sector is not small: eliminating institutional barriers, overcoming ‘market failures’, minimising business risks (often high in agriculture) and limiting unfair distribution of benefits.
The most important thing is how to execute this role appropriately and effectively. Below are some points that need attention.
One is the risk of herd investing which may lead to impractical and unsustainable investment in hi-tech agriculture. Businesses may take advantage of this ‘movement’ to abuse policy and distort the market (which should be an effective mechanism). Farmers may not fully benefit from supportive policies. Therefore, the Government should avoid imposition of policy.
Second is the compliance of domestic policy with the country’s commitments to international trade accords, in areas such as State support for research and development (R&D), information dissemination, trade promotion, training and infrastructure development. The important thing is to ensure transparency and enhance the voice of farming businesses.
Third is the credit support policy for hi-tech agriculture. This is a crucial issue with two big concerns; the definition of hi-tech agriculture and how to build an effective and practical credit policy.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment, hi-tech agriculture signifies application of new technologies in production, including automation, mechanisation, IT, new materials technology, biotechnology, livestock breeds that provide high yield and quality, and sustainable development on the basis of organic farming.
At present, only 26 enterprises in the sector have been recognised by MARD as hi-tech businesses.
To have an effective credit policy, it is necessary to recognise that hi-tech agriculture contains certain risks and uncertainties, especially in the ‘experimental’ stage.
Therefore, credit support (through lower interest rates) should be considered a risk-sharing mechanism.
Along with enhancing policy capacity and autonomy of the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV), improving monetary policy and ensuring soundness of the commercial banking system, credit support should come from the State budget.
At the first stage, we can use monetary instruments of the SBV.
It is also necessary to perfect an insurance mechanism for agricultural production. We already have regulations on this issue but the implementation has not been extensive and effective. This will be one of the key factors in businesses and farmers sharing risks.
Fourth is the model of agricultural production in general and hi-tech agriculture in particular. Given the variety of the models, they must meet three basic requirements: economies of scale (thereby better absorbing capital and technology); linkage to value chains; and ensuring bargaining power of farmers.
In fact, there are models of farms, contracts with companies (training for farmers to produce while the company executes marketing and distribution), new co-operatives with farmers contributing capital.
Hi-tech agriculture is thus a big topic which is not just a matter of profits and losses, but restructuring of the sector as a whole. Therefore, there is a need for in-depth studies on ‘market and business leadership’, ‘State support’ and ‘stakeholders’ interests, particularly that of farmers. Besides this, the quality of agricultural growth and sustainable development of the rural sector have to be considered.
Source: VNS. Date: 2017-08-02
Ho Chi Minh seeks to trace pork origins
Starting yesterday, only pork with traceable origins is ostensibly allowed to enter HCM City’s two wholesale markets, but inspections by authorities found that only around 13 per cent of the pork in the markets actually had clear origins, according to the Department of Industry and Trade.
The department in collaboration with other agencies and the managements of Hóc Môn and Bình Điền markets checked the pork that was entering them.
Nguyễn Ngọc Hòa, deputy director of the department, said on July 30 night and July 31 morning, for instance, some 8,400 pig carcasses were brought in, but only 1,205 had traceable origins.
He said that 35 per cent had information entered in their rings by farmers, but the rate falls to 21 per cent when they leave slaughterhouses following lapses by veterinary staff, and falls further to 13 per cent when they reach the two wholesale markets.
The city’s programme to trace the origin of pork involves four locations – farms, abattoirs, wholesale distributors, and retailers.
It has a connected information system, and if any part of the chain does not record information, consumers cannot check the origin of the meat, Hòa explained.
Around 85 per cent of the pork consumed in the city market is supplied from other cities and provinces, and the city is the only locality in the country to have such a programme.
So the city can only request authorities in other provinces to help in this regard, he said.
To improve the situation, relevant city agencies should co-operate with their counterparts in other provinces to persuade pig farmers to record information about pigs and instruct abattoirs and traders to accept only pigs with clear origins, he said.
The department has called on the city government to take a tougher line with violators.
Hòa said pork sold through modern trade channels is properly regulated. Thus, if the portion sold through traditional retail channels -- which get their pork from the two wholesale markets -- is also tightly controlled, all the pork sold in the city would have traceable origins, he said.
Source: VNS. Date: 2017-08-02
US Ag Secretary urged to reopen poultry markets with China
Senators from across the US political spectrum have written to US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue calling for a swift reopening of poultry markets with China.
The Chinese authorities banned imports of chicken and turkey from the US following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild duck in 2015 and the ban has been in place ever since.
In the bipartisan letter, the senators said US poultry producers continued to be negatively affected by the loss of the burgeoning export market.
“The poultry industry provides thousands of high quality jobs in our rural communities and the reopening of the Chinese market would provide a huge boost for these rural areas.
“We encourage you to remain focused on the next steps to officially reopen the Chinese market as soon as possible. Expanding market access in growing regions in the Asia Pacific, especially China, is essential for our poultry producers and will result in the creation of new jobs and higher wages in rural communities.”
Senators said in the letter that they were encouraged that China had begun its animal health audit of the US poultry industry: “Once this audit is completed, we encourage USDA to remain diligent in seeking final Chinese approval for US poultry’s first successful shipment as quickly as possible.
“Poultry products are often part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, and our farmers would very much like to be able to offer their products during that time.”
The letter was welcomed by the National Turkey Federation and National Chicken Council, which said they were pleased to see a third of the Senate call for swift progress to end China’s ban on US poultry.
“The Senate’s strong statement on behalf of American poultry products makes clear balance and fairness must exist for a two-way open market with China,” they said in a statement.
Source: Poultry World. Date: 2017-08-02
Vietnam promotes exports to Australia, New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand have huge potential for Vietnamese products like farm produce, aquatic products, coffee, cashew, computers, telephones and garments, said Nguyen Phuc Nam, deputy director of the Department of Asia-Pacific Market under the Ministry of Industry and Trade at a conference held in Hanoi on July 28.
The ASEAN-Australia- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which took effect from January 1, 2010, plays a key role in enhancing economic relations, trade and investment between ASEAN and Australia and New Zealand, Nam said.
Within the agreement framework, ASEAN countries can enjoy 90 to 100 per cent tariff reductions in Australian and New Zealand markets, and Vietnamese firms should take full advantage of this potential, he said.
He noted that Australia and New Zealand were among the biggest importers in the world since both economies are largely dependent on imported products.
Vietnam’s chief exports to these two markets include agricultural products, seafood, coffee beans, cashews, electronics parts, textiles, footwear and construction material.
If the AANZFTA was utilized well, Vietnamese producers could enjoy all the privileges contained therein, boosting export turnover and earning handsome profits, Nam said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that trade between Vietnam and Australia hit 5.26 billion USD in 2016, up 6.5 percent year-on-year. Particularly, Vietnam enjoyed trade surplus of 480 million USD with Australia in the year.
According to Phan Thi Dieu Linh, expert from the Department of Asia-Pacific Market, although Australian consumers are favoured of locals products, they are still open with imported ones, which have high quality, good looking and rational prices. This factor also facilitates Vietnamese exports, she underlined.
Meanwhile, Trinh Thi Thu Hien from the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated that there is large room for Vietnamese shipments to Australia as export revenue is still humble, standing at 1.6 percent of total export values in Australia.
Hien said that the AANZFTA is being carried out in the context of deeper regional and global integration which supports the development in Vietnam-Australia and New Zealand relations. Domestic businesses should apply international standards to meet increasing demands of foreign customers and become more competitive with foreign rivals, she highlighted.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-08-01
Chinese feed groups expand into pork output, despite waning margins
Feed companies are scrambling to get into hog rearing in China, adding the equivalent of Canadian output to capacity, even as some pork producers are expanding into processing to escape shrinking margins.
Total investment in animal farming by Chinese agriculture-related, stock listed companies soared 10 times to 49bn yuan, equivalent to $7.2bn, last year, the US Department of Agriculture bureau in Beijing said.
Of this, $6.1bn was invested in hog farming, of which China is already by far the world's biggest operator, boasting more than half the world's swine herd.
However, this growth was driven by feed companies expanding into hogs, rather than by traditional pork production group.
The equivalent of an estimated 27m head in annual pig slaughter added is not far short of the total 28.7m head slaughtered last year in Canada, the world's sixth-ranked pork producing country after China, the EU, the US, Russia and Brazil.
Feed market share
The expansion into hog rearing is being driven by a quest to secure share of the competitive animal feed sector, with China's soy crushing capacity, for instance, well ahead of the level needed to satisfy the country's huge demand.
"Industry analysts believe that by engaging in swine farming, the feed companies may enjoy an advantage in expanding their feed market share," the USDA bureau said.
Chinese feed output rose by 6.6% above 115m tonnes in the first five months of this year.
The bureau also noted that the investment in new hog production capacity, "showed a significant move to the north" of China, with Inner Mongolia alone receiving $1.86bn of the overall investment.
Heilongjiang, also a major corn and soybean producing province, was third in the list of investment targets.
Thinner margins
However, the shift by feed groups into pork producers comes as many traditional hog groups are complaining of margins weakened by an upturn in output, encouraged by higher prices last year, besides from resilient imports.
China's top pig farmer Guangdong Wen's Foodstuff Group, in May revealed it was pushing into processing meat, in an effort to escape the margin pressure on pork output, and following a similar move by rival WH Group, the company which bought US giant Smithfield Foods.
The USDA bureau said that Chinese swine production profits had fallen from "high" levels to about 300 yuan ($45) a head last month.
"Industry insiders believe swine inventory will continue on a moderate recovery and swine profits are expected to stabilise or lower slightly from the current level during the second half of 2017."
Pork import implications
Rabobank last week said that China's hog output, which it forecast rising by 2% over 2017, "was faster than expected in the first half of the year, as many producers shared a positive view of the market and made rapid herd replenishments".
The dynamic, and a fall in Chinese pork prices to 30% below last year's record levels, was reflected in "flat" imports in the January-to-May period, "which contrasts with the significant growth seen in the first half of 2016".
Source: Agrimoney. Date: 2017-08-01
Chinese feed groups expand into pork output, despite waning margins (2)
Feed companies are scrambling to get into hog rearing in China, adding the equivalent of Canadian output to capacity, even as some pork producers are expanding into processing to escape shrinking margins.
Total investment in animal farming by Chinese agriculture-related, stock listed companies soared 10 times to 49bn yuan, equivalent to $7.2bn, last year, the US Department of Agriculture bureau in Beijing said.
Of this, $6.1bn was invested in hog farming, of which China is already by far the world's biggest operator, boasting more than half the world's swine herd.
However, this growth was driven by feed companies expanding into hogs, rather than by traditional pork production group.
The equivalent of an estimated 27m head in annual pig slaughter added is not far short of the total 28.7m head slaughtered last year in Canada, the world's sixth-ranked pork producing country after China, the EU, the US, Russia and Brazil.
Feed market share
The expansion into hog rearing is being driven by a quest to secure share of the competitive animal feed sector, with China's soy crushing capacity, for instance, well ahead of the level needed to satisfy the country's huge demand.
"Industry analysts believe that by engaging in swine farming, the feed companies may enjoy an advantage in expanding their feed market share," the USDA bureau said.
Chinese feed output rose by 6.6% above 115m tonnes in the first five months of this year.
The bureau also noted that the investment in new hog production capacity, "showed a significant move to the north" of China, with Inner Mongolia alone receiving $1.86bn of the overall investment.
Heilongjiang, also a major corn and soybean producing province, was third in the list of investment targets.
Thinner margins
However, the shift by feed groups into pork producers comes as many traditional hog groups are complaining of margins weakened by an upturn in output, encouraged by higher prices last year, besides from resilient imports.
China's top pig farmer Guangdong Wen's Foodstuff Group, in May revealed it was pushing into processing meat, in an effort to escape the margin pressure on pork output, and following a similar move by rival WH Group, the company which bought US giant Smithfield Foods.
The USDA bureau said that Chinese swine production profits had fallen from "high" levels to about 300 yuan ($45) a head last month.
"Industry insiders believe swine inventory will continue on a moderate recovery and swine profits are expected to stabilise or lower slightly from the current level during the second half of 2017."
Pork import implications
Rabobank last week said that China's hog output, which it forecast rising by 2% over 2017, "was faster than expected in the first half of the year, as many producers shared a positive view of the market and made rapid herd replenishments".
The dynamic, and a fall in Chinese pork prices to 30% below last year's record levels, was reflected in "flat" imports in the January-to-May period, "which contrasts with the significant growth seen in the first half of 2016".
Source: Agrimoney. Date: 2017-08-01
6,600 NZ dairy cows en route to China aboard world’s largest livestock carrier
Around 6,600 dairy cows from New Zealand are currently en route to China aboard the world’s largest livestock carrier, the Ocean Drover.
The 176m long vessel collected the first half of its cargo at Timaru port in New Zealand’s southern island, before travelling north to Napier port to collect the remaining cows.
It was scheduled to depart New Zealand shores on Friday, July 31. The shipment is currently travelling across the Pacific Ocean; it is approximately half way through its journey to China.
The arrival date and time of the livestock carrier at a port in China are unknown, as the journey time will depend on both weather and sea conditions.
The Ocean Drover, which was built in 2002, is believed to be the world’s largest livestock carrier. It measures 176.1m in length and is 31.1m wide; the vessel tips the scales at just under 13,500t deadweight.
It is believed that these New Zealand cows will be transported to farms owned by dairy giant Fonterra.
NZ Named As China’s ‘Most Important’ Dairy Partner
The news of the Ocean Drover’s departure to China coincided with New Zealand being described as China’s “most important” dairy partner at the China-NZ Dairy Forum.
The forum was co-hosted by Fonterra and it aims to promote the exchange of ideasbetween the two countries.
At the forum, the Chairman of the Dairy Association of China (DAC), Gao Hongbin, praised New Zealand while recognising the role international companies play in the domestic industry.
“New Zealand is China’s most important overseas dairy partner and this partnership will keep strengthening,” he said.
Sharing knowledge on effluent management systems, which is an important part of delivering sustainable dairy systems, was a key theme at this year’s forum, Fonterra added.
Source: Agriland. Date: 2017-08-01