August 29, 2009
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US exports could be harmed without animal tracing system
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An increasing number of countries are adopting livestock trace-back systems, and countries that import meat may require the same system from the US.
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The US currently has a variety of export verification programmes in place to address the import requirements of several countries, but some in the industry fear the loss of export markets if a government suddenly required the US to have a national system trace-back system.
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The lack of such a system could mean millions of dollars lost in the short term and billions if no plan is in place longer term.
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Kansas State University professor of agricultural economics Ted Schroeder said at the National Conference on Animal Identification that he estimated the hypothetical loss of all beef and pork export markets for one day at 2007 export levels would cost the beef market US$9.1 million and the pork market US$3.1 million.
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The hypothetical loss of markets for a whole year could cost beef producers US$3.3 billion and pork producers US$1.1 billion, Schroeder said.
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Increased beef export demand is needed to keep the US production, processing and distribution systems viable, he said. If the US adopted a full-traceability programme tomorrow at 30 percent participation by producers, beef product export demand could rise by eight percent.
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But at 90 percent participation, the increase could jump to 34.9 percent, Schroeder said. This would be like gaining another country like Mexico for export of US beef and beef products, Schroeder said.
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US consumers also are becoming more demanding of the food they eat, he said. Direct marketing programmes and continued health-related questions prove that knowing more about where and how livestock is raised is becoming more important to more people.
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Adopting a full-trace-back system with a 30 percent participation rate could boost domestic beef demand by just 0.25 percent, but at 90 percent, domestic demand could rise by 0.98 percent, he said.
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