Shipments to Russia increased 11 percent year-on-year in 2012 to 253,924 MT, while exports to Chile and Egypt rose substantially, up 91 percent and 37 percent, respectively.

Due to political instability, shipments to Iran continued to decrease in 2012, down 48 percent year-on-year to 67,768 MT.

After foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) induced disruption to trade, Paraguayan beef exports rebounded in 2012 with shipments reaching 185,102 MT. Assisted by lower export prices throughout 2012, trade with Russia was robust, up 142 percent year-on-year to 130,031 MT.

Uruguay also increased exports, up 12 percent from year-ago levels to 253,798 MT. Russia was again the major Uruguayan market. However, exports decreased 14 percent to 97,518 MT, while shipments to China and the U.S. surged in 2012, up 74 percent and 27 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Argentina was the only South American country to record a decline in beef exports in 2012, with shipments for the year down nearly 25 percent year-on-year at approximately 115,000 MT, the lowest total export volume in 10 years.

Argentina’s competitiveness has been heavily impacted by government market-control decisions designed to ensure an adequate beef supply for the domestic market through the implementation of export quotas.

The primary beef export market for Argentina in 2012 was Chile, where shipments increased 31 percent year-on-year to 26,305 MT.

Looking forward, South American beef exports are forecast to remain high in 2013, underpinned by the continuing global demand for cheap protein.

Dominican Republic
Agriculture Minister Luis Ramon Rodriguez recently met with the director general of livestock, Bolivar Toribio, and animal health director Rafael Nunez to put forward an operational plan to reopen exports of beef, chicken, pork and eggs to the U.S. as well as other Caribbean markets.

As part of the program, Toribio announced that epidemiological inspection will certify farms and slaughter facilities in order to ensure that the measures recommended by the authorities are better implemented.

Toribio said that health inspections carried out in the country over the past three years show a low incidence of disease, so the authorities’ plans should not be delayed.

He added that the Ministry of Agriculture is developing a health plan aimed at declaring the Dominican Republic free of diseases such as avian influenza and Newcastle’s disease in chickens.

Toribio also praised the work that has been done within the program to conquer classical swine fever (CSF) in pigs. He said that the government is expected to issue a statement shortly calling for exports of pork, chicken and beef to be reopened.

The authorities are taking samples for laboratory analysis to verify the absence of avian influenza, Newcastle’s disease and classical swine fever.

“We will proceed to a sampling protocol that will allow us in the near future to certify the country free of avian influenza, Newcastle’s disease in chickens and classical swine fever in pigs,” he said. In the case of cattle, Toribio said the diseases present in the Dominican Republic are common in most continental countries and so are not internationally notifiable.

He explained that to export beef it was only necessary to establish a traceability system that contains all the information of the food, such as the source, slaughter date and the name and location of the farm.

“The cattle have no health problems and it is only required to establish a system of inspection that guarantees traceability,” Toribio explained. “This involves adapting slaughterhouses and training livestock exporters.”

The director of animal health, Rafael Nunez, said the Dominican Republic is preparing to notify the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) and the countries with which it will market livestock products about the start of surveillance programs, to demonstrate their high animal health status and to obtain certification for the areas that have been declared free of disease so that meat exports to international markets can restart.

“We will establish, together with the Ministry of Public Health, a whole-meat inspection system that can be validated worldwide, following the patterns that establish international standards for such programs,” Nunez said. He said that the Dominican Republic protocol complies with the procedures required by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the marketing of livestock products.

Mexico
Several Mexican states will face a red meat shortage in 2013 due to increased exports and a high cattle slaughter rate, warned Gilardo López Hinojosa, president of the Regional Livestock Association of Tamaulipas State (UGRT).

“Many head of cattle are being slaughtered because of the drought,” said López, claiming that meat prices may increase in Mexico by 50 percent. “In about six to eight months, we’ll no longer have cows or calves to meet domestic demand.”

It could make for a dire situation in 2013, he added, “Because we’re pretty much sending all our cattle to the U.S.” According to the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, from 2008 to 2012, Mexican cattle exports to the U.S. grew by 280 percent – to 83 million head from just 29 million head.

About two years ago, Tamaulipas state had about 550,000 head of cattle and now it has 120,000 less than that, according to López. “Because of drought, exports and other factors, we’re at a little above 400,000.”

New Zealand
New Zealand’s beef farmers could be in for continued happy days with further gains in beef prices offsetting much of the impact of the high New Zealand dollar, Westpac economist Nathan Penny says.

New Zealand beef producers have benefited from drought in the northern hemisphere, pushing up competitors’ feed costs, particularly in the U.S. “Americans wanting their hamburgers even during a drought has created opportunities for pasture-based producers like New Zealand,” Penny said.

Westpac’s latest Agribiz sheep and beef outlook showed beef prices were 8 percent lower than their early 2011 high, while the November 2012 season peak in lamb prices was 30 percent lower than the same time in 2011. Silver Fern Farms’ latest market report said the U.S. beef market remained flat, with prices trading in a narrow range in the early part of this month.

Chinese beef imports from New Zealand continued to show solid growth on a wide range of beef cuts, mostly in the middle price range. Under the two countries’ Free Trade Agreement, duty rates had dropped from 5.3 percent in 2012 (and will reduce incrementally to zero duty rate by 2016), which gave a distinct advantage over other North Asian markets (Korea and Japan), where duty rates remained at 40 percent.

European markets for New Zealand beef continued to be affected by slow demand, with prices of higher-value cuts capped and cheaper offerings from South America. 

Clint Peck is former director of Montana’s Beef Quality Assurance program.