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KEY MARKET: In China, a popular use for beef is hot pot where short plate cuts of meat are sliced thin and cooked at the table. This is just one opportunity for more U.S. beef exports to the country. The country has an appetite for more beef but is throwing up new trade roadblocks.
China has long been known as a strong market for U.S. pork, which has grown considering massive herd losses due to African swine fever. In 2017, the country finally reopened to U.S. beef imports, but the door to trade hasn’t swung wide just yet.
Taiwan Expands Market Access for U.S. Red Meat but with Some Controversy
Thursday Jan 28th, 2021 On Jan. 1, Taiwan implemented market access changes for imports of U.S. beef and pork. For U.S. beef, the 30-month cattle age limit was eliminated, so Taiwan now accepts beef from U.S. cattle of all ages. For U.S. pork, Taiwan established maximum residue limits (MRLs) for ractopamine residues, easing the zero tolerance policy previously in place. Taiwan is already a major destination for U.S. beef, with annual exports exceeding $500 million notes Joel Haggard, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) senior vice president for the Asia Pacific. Exports through November were 3% ahead of 2019 s record pace in volume (59,404 metric tons) and down just 1% in value ($509.1 million). Haggard adds that Taiwan s beef demand has held up well through the COVID-19 pandemic, as the island nation has been very successful in controlling the spread of the virus. Restaurant activity has remain
China’s import demand expected to be lower year over year but still elevated by historical standards.
Driven by higher estimates for pork, USDA recently revised higher its 2020 and 2021 forecast for China total meat imports by 4% and 1%, respectively.
“While pork import growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2020, it nevertheless exceeded expectations and results in a more bullish outlook for 2021,” USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) noted in a recent report.
USDA FAS
The impact of African swine fever (ASF) is expected to have peaked in 2020, which FAS said pressured consumption and increased the country’s reliance on meat imports.
IARN Taiwan has implemented market access changes for imports of US beef and pork.
According to Joel Haggard, US Meat Export Federation senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, Taiwan eliminated a 30-month cattle age limit for US beef. The country now accepts beef from US cattle of all ages. For US pork, Taiwan established maximum residue limits (MRLs) for ractopamine residues, easing the zero-tolerance policy that had previously been in place.
“January 1st the government of Taiwan opened up the market to US cattle of all ages, fulfilling a commitment they had made years before,” Haggard said. “It is the USA’s sixth largest market for beef with trade now worth over half a billion dollars. Last year, Taiwan arguably mounted the most successful defense against COVID recording just over 850 total cases in the past 12 months. Taiwan’s foodservice sector recorded the least impact of any large economy worldwide, although the number of international visitors did fall over
CO Pork Producers Council
The Colorado Pork Producers Council will gather in person for their annual meeting the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The Council plans to hold its 2021 annual meeting at the Morgan County Fairgrounds in Brush on February 22nd.
Executive Director Joyce Kelly says agenda items include the election of new board members, updates from the U.S. Meat Export Federation, the National Pork Board, and the National Pork Producers Council.
Members will continue to discuss ways to promote what Kelly calls, “pork’s environmental story.”
Kelly; “The impacts that we have made on the environment. That we really are helping the environment. People don’t realize that over the last 50 years we have reduced our carbon footprint by 7.7%. That doesn’t sound alike but when you look at it it’s huge. We have double the amount of pork being produced from 12 billion pounds to 24 billion pounds using 76% less land, 25% less water, and 7% less ener