USMEF Board Of Directors Meeting & International Buyers Conference, May 2...
Brochure and Registration Form USMEF International Buyers Conference Product Showcase Registration Kit Unofficial Translation of NOM - NMX-FF-081-SCFI-2003
Newly Published Mexican Norm Applicable to Pork Products, Carcasses, and Pork Fresh-grading.
Middle East
No Major Disruptions To U.S. Trade Due To War
Despite the war with Iraq and uncertainties about the situation and its adverse effects on business, USMEF trading partners in the Middle East report business as usual with no sign of any consequences to the U.S. meat trade from the conflict.
USMEF discussed the impact of the Iraq war on business with leading U.S. meat importers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt and was told that these primary Middle East markets are outside the war zone and unaffected.
In the UAE alone, there are seven major seaports in addition to airports, which will not be affected, and the import of goods from outside will continue.
Some ports, especially in Kuwait and Qatar, are presently being totally utilized by the U.S. armed forces, and supplies are being trucked in from neighboring countries.
The war has, however, affected U.S. beef consumption in hotels since hotel business has dropped about 50-70 percent as business travelers stay away. U.S. beef business remains stable, however, at white-tablecloth restaurants and fast-food outlets.
U.S. beef sales to the foodservice industry have soared due to increased purchasing by U.S. forces. An importer in Saudi Arabia is bringing in planeloads of U.S. ground beef and hamburgers on a weekly basis for the navy and fast-food chains.
Catering companies such as Saudia catering (which supplies airlines) have not been affected by the war.
Shipping companies, too, report they are operating as normal. In the UAE, more containers with food are on the way, although war risk insurance premiums initially increased freight costs to the region, they have since fallen to an insignificant 0.05 percent in the UAE. Some other Gulf ports (especially Kuwait and Qatar) are being hit by rising insurance costs as the war accelerates.
U.S. beef liver exports to Egypt are expected to be unaffected since liver is a staple of the Egyptian diet and the cheapest source of animal protein. Egypt’s government has decided to freeze state imports for three months except for basic food items due to the weak local currency and a shortage in hard currency. The Egyptian pound has lost about 20% of its value against the U.S. dollar and the euro since it was allowed to float freely last January. The government did not specify for how long the price-fixing measure would stay in effect, while the list of government imports to be halted was to be made public later.
Australia’s meat export trade to the Middle East is encountering more problems because the impact of the war on Iraq coincided with a shortage in supply and an increase in prices due to the drought. Australia exports around 1.5 million live sheep a year to Kuwait and 1.9 million to Saudi Arabia. An Australian ship carrying 60,000 live sheep, scheduled to unload in Kuwait was diverted to Oman and the UAE. U.S. beef presently has a competitive edge with its foremost rivals in the region, Australia and Brazil.
The trade is looking for opportunities in Iraq after the fighting ends and believes the future of trade with Iraq will be bright when the country is reconstructed.
Mexico Pork Antidumping Investigation
On March 19, 2003, the U.S. coalition consisting of USMEF, the National Pork Producers Council and the American Meat Institute filed legal documents on behalf of the U.S. Pork industry regarding Mexico's pork antidumping investigation. This filing was presented to the Mexican Ministry of Economics.
Click on the links below to download the Spanish language version of this filing as three PDF documents. Each file is approximately 120 pages; please allow appropriate download time.
USMEF will post the English language translation of this filing as soon as it is available.
Mexico Antidumping General Instructions
Mexico Antidumping Brief 1-118
Mexico Antidumping Anexes 1-14