Chairman Pleased with Record Turnout, Optimistic Outlook at USMEF Board of Directors Meeting ...
Chairman Pleased with Record Turnout, Optimistic Outlook at USMEF Board of Directors Meeting
As the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase wrapped up Friday in St. Louis, Chairman Jim Peterson, a rancher from Buffalo, Mont., shared his thoughts on the meeting.
“I think the producers attending this meeting are cautiously optimistic and, in some cases, very excited about what is happening with pork and beef exports,” Peterson said. “Muscle cut exports have grown significantly so far this year, and some of the recent increase in prices for both pork and beef can probably be attributed to this increase in exports. The recent glitch in the financial markets may have hurt us a little bit, but overall I see a lot of excitement and that is reflected in the record attendance here.”
The conference drew a record turnout of about 200 attendees, with an especially strong delegation of international buyers from areas such as China/Hong Kong, the Caribbean, Mexico and the ASEAN region.
USMEF Chairman Jim Peterson moderates a trade issues panel discussion featuring (from left) Barry Carpenter, NMA; Laurie Hueneke, NPPC; Gregg Doud, NCBA; Bill Westman, AMI; and Bob Young, AFBF
Market access issues occupied much of the conversation in St. Louis, including Friday’s trade panel discussion featuring representatives of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Meat Association (NMA) and American Meat Institute (AMI). The panel also provided insights on the current political environment in Washington, D.C., and the importance of advocating the interests of U.S. agriculture in a unified and well-informed manner.
Peterson said the industry is very encouraged by some of the recent progress in market access, such as regaining eligibility for U.S. pork in Russia and China.
“There are some encouraging signals, especially on the pork side, that we are going to have greater access to Russia and China,” he said. “This should boost our export totals in the second quarter - particularly with pork variety meat, which has been down so far this year.”
Peterson cautioned, however, that some issues — such as the pending free trade agreement with South Korea and the 20-month age limit on U.S. beef exports to Japan — will require significantly more time and effort to resolve.
“As far as the big issues – the FTAs and the discussions with Japan on the 20-month issue – I think there’s a lot of work still to be done there,” he said. “Frankly, from a political standpoint, that’s going to take some time.”
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.
Chairman Pleased with Record Turnout, Optimistic Outlook at USMEF Board of Directors Meeting
As the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting and Product Showcase wrapped up Friday in St. Louis, Chairman Jim Peterson, a rancher from Buffalo, Mont., shared his thoughts on the meeting.
“I think the producers attending this meeting are cautiously optimistic and, in some cases, very excited about what is happening with pork and beef exports,” Peterson said. “Muscle cut exports have grown significantly so far this year, and some of the recent increase in prices for both pork and beef can probably be attributed to this increase in exports. The recent glitch in the financial markets may have hurt us a little bit, but overall I see a lot of excitement and that is reflected in the record attendance here.”
The conference drew a record turnout of about 200 attendees, with an especially strong delegation of international buyers from areas such as China/Hong Kong, the Caribbean, Mexico and the ASEAN region.
USMEF Chairman Jim Peterson moderates a trade issues panel discussion featuring (from left) Barry Carpenter, NMA; Laurie Hueneke, NPPC; Gregg Doud, NCBA; Bill Westman, AMI; and Bob Young, AFBF
Market access issues occupied much of the conversation in St. Louis, including Friday’s trade panel discussion featuring representatives of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), National Meat Association (NMA) and American Meat Institute (AMI). The panel also provided insights on the current political environment in Washington, D.C., and the importance of advocating the interests of U.S. agriculture in a unified and well-informed manner.
Peterson said the industry is very encouraged by some of the recent progress in market access, such as regaining eligibility for U.S. pork in Russia and China.
“There are some encouraging signals, especially on the pork side, that we are going to have greater access to Russia and China,” he said. “This should boost our export totals in the second quarter - particularly with pork variety meat, which has been down so far this year.”
Peterson cautioned, however, that some issues — such as the pending free trade agreement with South Korea and the 20-month age limit on U.S. beef exports to Japan — will require significantly more time and effort to resolve.
“As far as the big issues – the FTAs and the discussions with Japan on the 20-month issue – I think there’s a lot of work still to be done there,” he said. “Frankly, from a political standpoint, that’s going to take some time.”
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.