May 13, 2005

US corn growers increasingly see meat exports as form of grain exports

US corn growers are increasingly accepting the view that pork and beef exports are also a form of grains exports because of the large amounts of corn present in the animals' diets. They estimate that 2.6 million bushels of corn have been exported in the value-added form of US$43 billion worth of US beef and pork exports in the past decade.

US corn growers recently visited the European Union (EU), in a team put together by the US Grains Council and the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF), for face-to-face meetings with EU officials, importers, traders and farmers.

Rodney Weinzierl, executive director of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board said that though the EU is not a bulk corn importer, the US can still access these markets through meat exports.

Weinzierl said that US corn products will see benefits when the US Meat Export Federation, the US Grains Council and the US Poultry and Egg Export Council work cooperatively. As a result US corn in one form or another is able to access almost every market in the world.

The US team took home a new understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the EU market that will help corn growers take advantage of exporting corn to the EU through the value-added form of US red meat.

Biotechnology issues the EU and the US differ on were also talked about, including the new testing requirements for Bt10 in corn gluten feed and distiller's dried grains with solubles entering the EU feed market from the US.

After meeting with EU feed grain processors to learn about opportunities and barriers to US corn exports, the team was struck by the difficulty in exporting both grains and meat to the EU. The expansion to the EU-25, brings changes in production patterns, which the team talked about with feed manufacturers, meat processors and livestock producers in the Netherlands and Poland, on of the new EU members.

In 2004, the US exported 46,316 tonnes of beef and beef variety meat to the EU, a 254 percent increase over 2003, valued at US$33.7 million, a 115 percent increase. US pork exports to the EU in 2004 totaled 10,712 tonnes, US$30.3 million.

The US Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the US red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.