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Meat exports help pork producersBy Jennifer Bremer Increasing profitability of beef, pork and lamb by enhancing the demand for the product is the goal of the United States Meat Export Federation. Jon Caspers, vice president of the federation's board told a group of youth how the federation works for livestock producers during a seminar held at the Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines on Jan. 24. "The federation works with packer/processors, farm organizations, agribusiness groups, commodity organizations and producers in order to expand exports of red meat, thus making a better profit for producers," said Caspers, a pork producer from Swaledale, Iowa. By the numbers, 14 percent of the production of pigs is exported to other countries. He said that adds up to 217,000 bushels of corn per day and 50,000 bushels of beans per day marketed in pork. In the past 46 years a tremendous growth in red meat consumption has been seen around the world. While the United States has only seen a 58 percent increase in that many years, the world increase in red meat consumption is 387 percent. "We must continue to take advantage of these opportunities for expansion of red meat markets," Caspers said. Different cuts valued in different countries Trade can be increased in specific areas where products are valuable. He said some of these meat cuts are more valuable in other countries because of ethnic beliefs or a country's traditions. Currently pork export markets are larger for hams in Mexico, picnic and trimmings in Eastern Europe and Russia, variety meats in China, loins and tenderloins in Japan and bellies and butts in Korea. These countries will pay a premium for each of these cuts, thus making US pork worth more in this country. "The United States now has 26 percent of the world's pork export markets and that is expected to increase and expand into even more countries," he said. "Exports add $25 premium per hog in the United States and that amount has increased every year for the past 15 years." Caspers said the beef export markets have been more challenged due to the one case of BSE found in a cow in Washington in 2003. In 2003 beef exports totaled 1.2 billion metric tons, but after the BSE case was discovered beef exports decreased and totals for 2004 had gone down to 300 million metric tons. "We are working through these difficulties and slowly increasing beef exports. We hope to see Russia open soon and we are working on bilateral trade agreements with Columbia, Peru and Panama," he said. "This may help us get our beef export volume back, but we need to continue to work with South Korea." By 2009 the USMEF hopes to see beef exports back to the levels prior to 2003. He said they continue to work with maximum residue levels, labeling, residue, restrictions and tariffs along with emerging market studies. "The future includes more work with branded products including generic brands, store brands, breed brands, geographic brands, natural brands and private brands," said Caspers. "These seem to give consumers more confidence in meat products since it is more traceable and can be source verified. Brands promise quality to consumers." He reminded attendees that the USMEF continues to work to expand meat exports markets because it provides a better market for U.S. red meat. Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 641-938-2342 or by e-mail at jbremermaj@hotmail.com. B 24 2/12/07 3 Star CO Date: 2/8/07
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