Page 13 - Australian Pork Newapaper

China protocol update: APL signs co-operation agreement with China Meat Association
ON September 24 in Chengdu, China, Aus- tralian Pork Limited CEO Margo Andrae signed a strategic agreement with presi- dent of the China Meat Association Mr Li Shu- ilong.
The ‘Strategic Frame- work Agreement on Technical and Trade Development Coopera- tion’ was agreed to dur- ing discussions between APL, CMA and Austral- ian exporters in Shang- hai in May this year.
At a time when Afri- can swine fever is dev- astating Chinese indus- try, APL stands ready to assist, including by sharing experiences on biosecurity practice, ex- changing technical and other data and establish-
ing trade channels for Australian pork to enter the China market.
The agreement pro- vides a platform for information exchange, training programs, regular joint meetings, mutual support for each other’s objectives and two-way visits.
The signing took place during the China Inter- national Meat Industry Week, which was joint- ly hosted by the CMA
and International Meat Secretariat in China’s Sichuan province.
As part of ‘Meat Week’, APL attended the IMS 2019 World Pork Conference where APL General Manager of Research and Innova- tion Dr Heather Chan- non presented on Aus- tralia’s sustainability credentials.
During the conference, global industry leaders discussed the outlook for world pork produc- tion and trade.
Chinese participants were sanguine about the challenges presented by ASF but confident Chi- na would rebound faster than most expected.
APL spoke to a range of participants, includ- ing industry and peak
body representatives, importers, meat trade experts and government officials.
All were confident Chinese government would need to start ac- celerating new market access arrangements to secure more pork supply from abroad, including from Australia, in com- ing months.
While we interpret this as an encouraging sig- nal, nothing is certain.
Australian authorities are yet to hear back from their Chinese counter- parts in relation to the export protocol, but we will continue to pursue all market access oppor- tunities including China.
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Swine fever wipes out 20 percent of Vietnam pig herd
US Department of Ag- riculture Undersecretary Ted McKinney has spo- ken out about the African swine fever outbreaks in Vietnam, explaining the current death toll is es- timated to be 20 percent of the national herd.
There were some re- ports the number might be higher.
Vietnam government officials said the spread of the disease has shown signs of slowing and are urging farmers to restore pig herds battered by the outbreak.
“It’s tough to say wheth- er ASF is contained,” Mc- Kinney said.
McKinney has met with overseas buyers as well as Vietnamese government officials during his recent trip.
Still, McKinney pointed to one positive sign: the chief executive of a large Vietnamese feed com- pany told him the spread of ASF does not seem to have accelerated in the country.
US pork exports have jumped and pig proces- sors have been vying for business in China, the world’s biggest pork con- sumer, and other markets in Asia, where ASF has
devastated hog herds, pushed pork prices to re- cord highs and sent im- ports rocketing.
Though not harmful to humans, the disease is deadly to pigs, with no vaccine available.
USDA pork export sales data issued for the pe- riod from October 4-10 included ‘a significant quantity’ of sales that may have occurred in previous weeks – including exports to Mexico jumping to a weekly record of 132,381 tonnes, from 2692 tonnes a week earlier.
In addition to pork, Vi- etnamese buyers are also buying poultry, beef and water buffalo as part of the country’s preparation for the Lunar New Year celebrations in January.
“African swine fever continues to clearly be a problem, not just for the countries that have it, but countries like our own that don’t want to get it,” McKinney said.
The delegation took spe- cial precautions ahead of the trip to Vietnam – in- cluding no visits to Viet- namese farms – to help ensure members did not accidentally bring ASF back with them to the US.
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Australian Pork Newspaper, November 2019 – Page 13
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