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Saturday's Internet Edition, 06:37 PM, May 17, 2008.
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- In late 2001, USDA-FAS launched the Weekly Beef Export report under the directive of Mandatory Price Reporting (MPR) legislation. The weekly beef export report provides data for U.S. exports and outstanding export sales of fresh, chilled, and frozen beef muscle cuts. All trading partners are included in the weekly report, with the export data reported on a metric ton basis.
Those data are important because they are timelier than the monthly data – the monthly data for November were released on Friday, January 11th, while the weekly data are complete through December. However the weekly versus monthly data are not strictly comparable.
In November 2007, U.S. beef export tonnage was just over 116 million tons (carcass weight), up about 15 million tons or 15 percent from 2006’s. Weekly data indicated that further increases compared to a year ago were posted in December. On a weekly average basis, the preliminary USDA-FAS data showed U.S. whole muscle beef exports during December were about 10 percent above a year earlier. Still, compared to pre-BSE levels U.S. beef exports remain down. For example, in December 2003, weekly average whole muscle beef cut export tonnage was reported by USDA-FAS at 12.6 million metric tons compared to only 7.8 million metric tons in December 2007.
The key markets for U.S. beef since the discovery of BSE in late 2003 have been Mexico, Canada and Japan. South Korea reemerged as a key market in 2007, however due to ongoing difficulties with shipments last year that market was again closed to U.S. beef in October. In December, the USDA-FAS data showed weekly average U.S. exports of beef to Mexico were down 16 percent but exports to Canada and Japan were up 44% and 57%, respectively.
U.S. beef exports are forecast to continue to grow in 2008. The estimate for U.S. beef exports in 2007 is 1.42 billion pounds (carcass weight). In 2008, the forecast is for nearly 1.7 billion pounds. The record U.S. beef export level set in 2003 was just over 2.5 billion pounds.n
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Delegates voted 212 to 132 to back the proposal for mandatory COOL. The issue has been divisive for agricultural groups since Congress first passed COOL in the 2002 farm bill. Industry groups came together last summer, however, during the House farm bill debate to strike an agreement that would get mandatory country-of-origin labeling on food products in the new farm bill. “If Congress can find common ground on it, then surely we should be able to also,” said Farm Bureau member George Chambers of Georgia. Chambers later explained he knew what country his pants came from, but not the steak he ate for breakfast. “I know what I put on my rear, but I don’t know what I put in my mouth,” he said jokingly. Amending the group’s labeling policy was one of several changes in the Farm Bureau’s policy book, but the delegate voting session occurred Tuesday with few significant debates on farm policy or direction in agriculture. The bulk of the group’s major policies remained intact. Farm Bureau’s convention wraps up Wednesday in New Orleans, but most of the general business ended Tuesday afternoon. Farm Bureau did go on record Tuesday opposing any efforts to create a North American Union or create any single North American currency. The Idaho delegation brought forward the issue and said such a resolution had become the Idaho Farm Bureau’s state policy. The resolution stated Congress should not engage in creating any single currency, such as the amero, a currency term that some suggest would be comparable to the euro. An Oklahoma Farm Bureau member also was opposed to any North American currency. Legislatures in at least three states have also sent resolutions to Congress stating they would be opposed to any such change. The measure went to a delegate vote and was added to the group’s policy book, passing with 72% approval. |
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