USMEF Plays Key Leadership Roles at IMS Economics Workshop

The International Meat Secretariat (IMS) recently held its sixth IMS Economics Workshop in Paris. The workshop is held biennially, alternating with the World Meat Congress. This year’s meeting was hosted by French livestock and meat associations and their respective technical institutes.

Red meat industry leaders gather at the IMS Economics Workshop in Paris

The workshop attracted more than 60 participants and speakers from 20 different countries. With USMEF Economist Erin Borror chairing the IMS Economics Committee, USMEF worked closely with the host organizations in planning and developing the program.

“The past three IMS Economics Workshops were held in Canada, Ireland and Japan,” Borror said. “Our goal is to bring together a diverse group of analysts and meat industry participants from around the world to discuss key economic issues, challenges facing production, consumption and trade, as well as the industry outlook. Interaction with our international peers helps each of us to better understand the global context.”

Borror noted that the overarching goal of the IMS is to grow demand for red meat around the world, so the organization brings together industry leaders with a common interest in telling the positive story of red meat’s contribution to proper nutrition and to work on issues such as sustainable production and animal welfare.

“IMS also collaborates closely with the world’s standard-setting bodies,” she explained. “It’s very useful to have the IMS as a global voice of the red meat industry, allowing us to work on common goals.”

Day one of the workshop included country-specific briefings that outlined the current situation and outlook for beef, pork and lamb, covering all major regions. The briefings were mostly from exporting-country representatives, but also included updates from key importers such as Japan. Borror provided the update for U.S. beef, and John Johnson, chief operating officer for the National Pork Board (NPB) covered U.S. pork.

Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, explained the current state of China’s pork production, consumption and imports, while also covering the factors driving China’s booming demand for imported beef. Following a record-breaking performance for both products in 2016, China’s pork imports are up another 18 percent through the first quarter of this year, while beef imports are 15 percent ahead of last year’s pace. Haggard noted that U.S. efforts to gain access to the Chinese beef market have intensified, but explained that the two sides still have a number of technical issues to resolve. Later in the workshop, Haggard explained a number of key policy issues in China that are impacting global meat trade – including food security, food safety, environmental constraints, infrastructure developments and trade agreements.

The first day also included a panel on halal slaughter and related issues, with updates from French, Australian and Indian representatives. This is a top-of-mind topic for the beef industry, and participants greatly appreciated the range of views from key exporting countries on how to meet the growing global demand.

“Hearing a perspective from India was incredibly valuable and a unique opportunity,” Borror said.

Attendees also received an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities facing French beef and pork producers as well as an international production cost comparison from Claus Deblitz of Agri Benchmark, a global, nonprofit network of agricultural economists, advisors, producers and specialists in key sectors of the agricultural and horticultural value chains.

Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, discusses policy issues in China that impact global meat trade

Day two kicked off with a plenary session specifically focused on the meat industry’s response to societal expectations, moderated by USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. This included a presentation on German pork production, which had grown dramatically until about 2010, but has recently been impacted by a wide range of regulatory measures.

“Germany is still the largest pork-producing country in Europe, but Spain has outpaced Germany on hog numbers,” Borror explained. “Germany’s production growth has stabilized and is actually expected to decline this year, certainly due in part to this regulatory environment but also reflecting changes in consumer preferences and demand trends within Germany.”

The workshop also included an examination of key animal health issues affecting global meat trade. This included an update on the African swine fever (ASF) situation in Russia and its surrounding region. Findings of ASF in the Baltics and Eastern Europe were behind Russia’s 2014 suspension of pork imports from the EU – a move that had significant implications for pork trade that extend well beyond the European continent. While the EU prevailed in its WTO challenge of the ASF-related suspension, EU-Russia pork trade has not resumed and ASF remains an issue of great concern in the region. The group also heard updates on how EU member states continue to take significant precautionary measures to prevent the spread of ASF within Europe.

Trade policy was also a major focus of the workshop, with participants expressing concern about growing anti-trade sentiment and the need to better educate key constituencies about the benefits of trade. Dave Juday of World Perspectives offered an overview of the Trump administration’s stated policy goals and how these may impact meat trade within and beyond North America.

“Even as competitive as the global meat trade is today, there is still a great need for collaboration,” Seng said. “This workshop provided an excellent venue for constructively sharing ideas and approaches to the growing list of challenges our industry faces.”

NPB President Jan Archer, a pork producer from Goldsboro, North Carolina, also found the workshop to be a valuable experience that enhanced her knowledge and appreciation of how global trade issues impact her operation and those of her fellow producers.

“As an American pork producer I understand that more than 25 percent of the pork that leaves my farm, leaves our shores,” Archer said. “The IMS Economics Workshop gave me a much clearer picture of the competitive environment we face in the global marketplace. Hearing from the 20 countries participating was fascinating and made me even more appreciative of the representation we have with USMEF. Understanding what is happening in the meat sectors of our competitor countries is a daunting task and one that USMEF does well. The workshop also underscored for me the fact that the markets into which we are selling our products are ever-changing. Though all the attendees are competitors I was struck by the common challenges we face, including social license to operate, increased regulation and misperceptions surrounding meat consumption and production.”

Many of the workshop participants will assemble again at the next World Meat Congress, which the United States will host in May 2018 in Dallas. USMEF will offer more details on the World Meat Congress in future editions of the USMEF Export Newsline.