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U.S. to propose plan to meet Russia’s ractopamine ban
Story Date: 5/22/2013
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Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 5/21/13
U.S. pork and beef exporters are putting the finishing touches on a plan USDA will propose to Russia as a framework to certify ractopamine-free meat exports from the United States, U.S. Meat Export Federation executives told reporters.
John Brook, USMEF regional director for Europe, Russia and the Middle East, said USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is trying to set up a meeting with Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to present the plan.
Brook said the industry has worked hard to put together a proposal with sufficiently strong guarantees that the products being exported are from animals raised without the lean growth promotant ractopamine.
He said it remains to be seen whether Russian officials will accept the protocols or choose to observe them in action before deciding.
The Russian pork market has moved from 50 percent self-sufficiency in pork to 65 percent, but the USMEF officials said that still leaves good opportunity for U.S. pork exporters.
Russia closed its market to U.S. pork and beef over the ractopamine issue in February. The move has taken its toll on an industry increasingly dependent on exports for growth.
Japan
In a teleconference with reporters from a USMEF board of directors meeting in Washington D.C., the executives also predicted positive economic policies in Japan may stimulate beef and pork imports even in the face of a weakened yen.
They cautioned, however, the United States has plenty of competition from other exporters to that market.
Mexico
Chad Russell, USMEF regional director for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic, said in Mexico drought-spurred feeder cattle exports to the United States bode well for U.S. beef exports to Mexico, even as those exports have declined in the face of higher beef prices in a price-sensitive market.
He tied declining U.S. pork exports to Mexico to a surge in Mexican hog slaughter and increased poultry exports to that country.
Russell warned that mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) remains a trade factor, saying, “This is something that is a concern to me.”
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