Asia Pacific | Austrian trade makes no EU free market grain bidsHAMBURG, Oct ...
Asia Pacific
Austrian trade makes no EU free market grain bids
HAMBURG, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Austrian traders on Thursday submitted no bids for the export of any free market grains in the regular European Union export tenders, a spokesman for Austrian agricultural agency AMA said.
AUSTRALIA/USA: Oz beef producers worry new US origin labels will hamper sales
Australian beef producers are concerned that the new country of origin labels to be applied to meat, fish and produce in the US will work to their disadvantage.
Origin labelling could deter US
There are fears new country of origin labelling guidelines in the United States will turn processors away
Europe
EU grain import quotas seen threatening livestock sector
BRUSSELS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Proposed tariff quotas on European Union grain imports would push up animal feed prices and make the bloc's livestock sector less competitive, feed manufacturers said on Thursday.
Conference for Irish Beef Exports
Workshop on food safety and consumer protection in the beef sector.
EU View of WTO Ag Trade Talks
Gerard Kiely, the European Commission agricultural counselor in Washington, told DTN Tuesday that the European Union needs to know "the framework" for the World Trade Organization agricultural negotiations before the European Union can be expected to propose numerical reductions in farm subsidies.
USA
Illnesses from beef could cost ConAgra $50 million
Illnesses blamed on tainted ConAgra beef could cost the company up to $50 million in settlements, a Seattle lawyer representing many of the victims said Monday.
Veneman Announces Beef Promotion Board Appointments
Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman today announced 35 appointments to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board.
Order ends lockout, beef exports resume
President Bush requested, and a federal judge ordered, the reopening of West Coast ports on Tuesday, ending the 10-day labor lockout that has cost the U.S. economy $1 billion to $2 billion per day. The government first sought mediation as an alternative solution to this dispute. However, the mediation process was not successful, and the President decided to take action in order to "protect America's national health and safety." Bush invoked the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows the president to intervene in labor conflicts. Dock workers will return to their jobs under a temporary restraining order until Oct. 16 when the judge will decide whether to impose an 80-day "cooling-off period," as mandated by the Taft-Hartley Act. In 2001, the United States exported 1,026,695 metric tons of beef and pork — 57,000 containers — valued at more than $3.3 billion to Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and the Association of South-East Asian Nations. An ongoing dispute, therefore, could cost the American industry as much as $9 million per day and affect cattle and hog prices all the way down the chain to the American producer.
USDA issues guidelines for voluntary COOL
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued Interim Voluntary Country-of-Origin Labeling guidelines on Oct. 8 as required in the 2002 Farm Bill. Under the guidelines, a retailer may label a covered commodity with "United States Country of Origin" if certain criteria are met. For beef, the covered commodities must be derived exclusively from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the United States. This includes animals born and raised in Alaska or Hawaii and transported for a period not to exceed 60 days through Canada to the United States and slaughtered in the United States. The USDA now needs to develop regulations for mandatory country-of-origin labeling by Sept. 30, 2004. The full text of the voluntary guidelines will be published in the Oct. 11 Federal Register. For more information on country-of-origin labeling and a list of questions and answers, go to http://www.ams.usda.gov/COOL