The European Commission and the Lithuanian government are considering backing significant hunting and trapping campaigns to reduce wild boar numbers in regions where these animals have contracted African Swine Fever.
Russia has imposed a temporary ban on pork imports from Ukraine, claiming the unstable political situation in the country does not allow local veterinary services to properly monitor the quality of meat products being exported.
The Swedish government is to discuss "practical" initiatives to support Sweden’s high-cost pig farming sector, which is struggling to compete with cheaper imported pigmeat products.
UK animal welfare charity the RSPCA has succeeded in prompting a full enquiry into live animal exports from the port of Dover, as it calls for a nationwide ban.
While the first outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have now been registered in the eastern part of the European Union, in Russia, where the disease has raged for six years, veterinary specialists predict a further deterioration of the situation in...
A trade mission made of agricultural leaders from around the US is en route to the Middle East and Europe in a bid to develop further export opportunities for beef, pork and lamb.
The EU pigmeat market is likely to have seen "significant downwards demand", following Russia’s ban on imports after African swine fever (ASF) was discovered in Lithuania, according to a leading industry analyst.
Poland reported record exports of pork in 2013, according to data from the state-run Agricultural Market Agency (ARR). The country’s meat processors exported some 438,000 tonnes (t) of pork last year, an increase of 19% compared with a year earlier. In...
Poland’s meat industry has reported huge losses because of Russia’s recent restrictions on pork imports from the EU, following the recent outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Lithuania. Last week, Polskie Mieso – the Polish Association of Meat Producers,...
A Russian ban on European pork imports is having serious consequences, the European Union (EU) health commissioner Tonio Borg warned last night (Monday) in Brussels. “The price of meat in Europe is going down and the price of meat in Russia is going up,”...
The European Commission has intensified its diplomatic struggle with Russia over Moscow’s import ban on European Union (EU) pigmeat exports, tightening health controls on Russian and Belarus livestock lorries entering the EU.
Ukraine could face a collapse in pork prices this year due to oversupply, which is already taking its toll on the market, said the Association of Pig Producers of Ukraine. This, in turn, could lead to a crisis in pig production, it added, predicting that,...
Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food Sylvi Listhaug is pushing for more international trade and export, despite warnings that it could compromise animal welfare standards.
Whenever the phrase ‘emerging’ economies is used, the acronym BRIC is usually quite close behind. However, on consideration, the BRIC markets have stepped beyond ‘emerging’ and are actually seeing a slowdown in the momentum of their growth. The gap left...
The largest Russian meat processors have sent an open letter to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with a request to lift recently implemented restrictions on EU pork imports. According to them, this step has already resulted in “a catastrophic situation”...
European Commission officials are already considering whether to propose additional livestock welfare laws or guidelines, over and above the Commission’s May 2013 proposals for an animal welfare regulation that is now being considered by the European...
The European Union (EU) will have to make concessions on meat in its negotiations with the US for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a senior European Commission official warned last night (Tuesday).
Ethiopia’s large livestock industry is set to undergo a shake-up following a new livestock trading bill, passed on 21 January. The new law, due to be enforced in March, is designed to tighten Ethiopia’s livestock market, increasing its efficiency and...
The largest pork producer in Russia, Miratorg Company, plans to boost production at its plant in Kaliningrad Oblast by 60% to 35,000t over the coming year, the company has announced.
Denmark’s ministry of agriculture (MoA) is examining a proposal, supported by the country’s farming, retailing and consumer groups, to abolish VAT on organic products, including meat. The ministry is expected to deliver a decision once Prime Minister...
A political struggle has broken out over planned new European Union (EU) origin labelling rules for pigmeat and poultry – which could delay their entry into law.
Lithuania is planning to send a request to Brussels to allocate about €20m towards the fight against African swine fever (ASF), according to a report from the country’s State Food and Veterinary Service.
The European Commission has called a Russian “ban” on pork imports “disproportionate”, and has appealed to Russian authorities to end it as soon as possible. Russia stopped a number of exports from European Union (EU) member states when two wild boars...
The Hungarian government has earmarked HUF1.6bn (US$7m) for its flagship programme, designed to boost pig breeding and consumption of pork in Hungary this year, said Deputy Minister of Rural Development György Czerván.
The Russian government is to cut funding for livestock production development for the period up to 2020 by more than 10 times, from RUB65bn (US$1.84bn) to RUB4.6bn (US$0.13bn), according to its press service.
As of 30 January, Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has stopped pork imports from the European Union (EU) following the discovery last week in Lithuania of the bodies of two wild boars, which had died from African swine fever (ASF).
By John Giles, divisional director, Promar International
Although the New Year has come and gone, there is still the opportunity to both look back and forwards to see what has happened in the past 12 months and what might happen in the next 12.
Friland A/S, Denmark’s largest specialist organic meats producer, plans to adopt a market entry strategy of “thinking big but starting small” in China, following the company gaining an important foothold on the potentially lucrative Chinese organic meats...
A number of Latvian meat processors may close their businesses this year, due to the fact they will not be able to meet the EU’s new requirements on the quality of smoked meat products, according to reports from several meat companies.
Consumption of meat containing growth promoters, such as ractopamine, can lead to functional disturbances in the human body and cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a recent study from Russian state sanitary service Rospotrebnadzor. This,...
The insulation of heated livestock buildings and replacing soya with rapeseed in animal feed are some of the measures livestock farmers can use to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a European Parliament workshop heard last week in Brussels.
New technical regulations, set to be implemented in the Customs Union, will prevent the production and processing of meat on small farms for subsequent sale on the market. Due to come into force on 1 May 2014 in Customs Union countries of Russia, Belarus...
Danish Crown’s (DC) decision to shut down its DC and Tulip meat processing plants in Faaborg followed a late-hour, but unsuccessful intervention by the city’s mayor, Christian Thygesen, who has expressed sadness over the decision.
Spanish meat producers secured increasingly healthy prices in 2013 as the country crept out of recession in the second half, figures from its Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment (MAGRAMA) show.
Romania and Bulgaria are aiming to obtain permission from the European Commission to resume exports of live pigs to other EU member states in January 2015. Currently, the two countries are not allowed to export live pigs, due to restrictions imposed by...
The Belgian Superior Health Council, a scientific advisory body of the government, has recommended citizens eat no more than 500g of fresh red meat per week and to avoid cold cuts, such as cooked sausage or salami made of the meat. The advice comes after...
Russia has developed the first vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) and has already initiated tests, according to veterinary specialists in the country.
The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) is planning to lend up to US$30m to help a key Ukraine pig breeder and processor expand operations.
Meat consumption will never reach previous levels, Tassos Haniotis, director of economic analysis at the European Commission’s directorate general for agriculture said on Tuesday.
Ukraine will significantly increase exports of all kinds of meat in 2014, with the most significant growth coming from exports of pork, according to yearly forecasts.
Russia will continue to increase meat production and improve meat self-sufficiency in 2014 despite a number of negative factors hampering the development of the industry, according to the recent marketing report from the Russian Institute for Agricultural...
