Dear readers,
Some news that sound good for our industry:
- Israeli cultivated meat startup Believer Meats, which received US approval for its chicken this year, a month after becoming the fifth company to be allowed to sell cultivated meat in the US has ceased operations.
- The European Commission has announced a reinforcement of controls on food, animal and plant products entering the EU. The package includes a planned 50% increase in audits of non-EU countries over the next two years, while maintaining existing control levels within the EU. Audits of European Border Control Posts will increase by 33% . A dedicated EU Task Force will be established to improve the efficiency of import checks, with a focus on pesticide residues, food and feed safety and animal welfare. Coordinated EU monitoring actions on selected imported products are also under consideration. Around 500 national authority staff will receive training on official controls through a dedicated EU programme. Updated rules will govern the import of products containing traces of hazardous pesticides banned in the EU, reflecting recent changes to international standards.
Sunshine After Rain
The last week before Christmas cannot change to much on the European pork market. Contracts for the festive retail sales are done 2 months earlier, loads for Asia are on the sea routes, Christmas markets are already open from the beginning of December. The online German trading platform, that is used for predicting the evolution of the official quotation, is not operating until the middle of January.
What is worth to observe, is the rapidity and determination of the Catalan/Spanish authorities to contain the African swine fever in the area near Barcelona. Inside the closed area, over 2000 persons are mobilized to trace and hunt the wild boars. For now, there are 7 spotlights of ASF, 2 new found in the last days, with 115 wild boars tested negative. The 55 pig farms inside the area tested negative, the decision is to slaughter the pigs(approx. 80,000) as preventive measure, resulting meat to be sold only on the national market. 32 critical crossings have been closed within a radius of 0 to 6 km (approximately 4,000 hectares), especially in the triangle formed by the major transport routes AP-7, C-58, and C-16, and the railway network. On the other hand, in conjunction with infrastructure operators (Catalan Railways, ADIF, and State Highways), work is underway at another 22 crossings to correct fencing deficiencies . Parkings are closed in the area.
I added a table of the quotations of 12 of December, 2022, a year after the disastrous values determined by ASF in Germany. There is always sunshine after rain!
