Exporters must deal with zero tolerance for ractopamine

Reuters — Canada is not developing new tests for the feed additive ractopamine in beef and pork exports to Russia, says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. He said Ottawa is leaving it to shippers to take their own steps to satisfy the new Russian requirement for zero residue. The Canada Pork International marketing group said the

Pork exports expected to rise

Demand for Canadian pork products from South Korea may be slowing down, but the total volume of exports is still expected to remain steady, to slightly higher in calendar year 2012. South Korea imported a lot of Canadian pork products in 2011 following that country’s outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease — but it’s not expected to



New EU welfare laws could shrink pork supplies

Reuters/Pig numbers in the European Union could fall by as much as 10 per cent and the price of pork could rise substantially when tougher animal welfare regulations come into force next year. Some farmers are likely to leave the industry, especially in Spain, a major producer where a credit squeeze will make it harder



Better Times Ahead For Hog Producers?

So far this year, Canadian producers have had their best period of profitability in the last five years, a relief for those who survived a four-year period of unprecedented hardship, with low hog prices and high feed costs. With market hogs fetching up to $200 a head and sometimes more during the summer, the only


South Korea Lifts Tariffs On Chilled Pork Imports

SEOUL/REUTERS South Korea, battling to curb inflation while recovering from its worst outbreak of foot-and- mouth, will impose zero tariffs on all imports of chilled pork for food processing through Sept. 30, the Finance Ministry said in a statement Aug. 2. The move was “to ease tight supplies of raw pork due to foot-and-mouth,” the

Get Korean Trade Deal Done, Farm Groups Urge

Canadian pork farmers and meat processors will be shut out of the lucrative Korean market before long unless Canada makes a free trade agreement with the Asian nation a priority. Negotiations on such a deal began in 2004 but have been on hold since 2008, apparently over concerns of Canadian automakers, representatives of the Canadian


South Korea Re-Opens Slaughterhouses

South Korea, battling against its worst foot-and- mouth outbreak, said March 2 it had reopened most slaughterhouses nationwide to ease a supply shortage after closing them to contain the animal disease. The government of Asia’s fourth-largest economy said in a separate statement that it had confirmed 150 cases in 11 provinces in three months so

South Korea’s Recovery From Foot-And-Mouth Slow

South Korea’s swine industry could take one or two years to recover from a foot-and-mouth epidemic that has boosted meat purchases by one of the world’s top pork importers. A long-term boost to the country’s pork imports, mainly from the United States, could support U.S. hog futures already at record highs partly on the back