The Russians have shot themselves in the foot over the recent embargo on Brazilian meat plants. Iran has taken over as the main destination for beef and poultry at better prices and far less muscle flexing than the “bantam cocks” in Moscow, said Meat Trade daily news editor William Hayes. He says Russia has been blackmailing Brazil in order to get its backing for WTO membership. “However, Russians are not fit or proper persons to be admitted to the WTO unless they clean up their act,” added Hayes, from his Buenos Aires-based office. “The massive inferiority complex the Russians suffer from is the reasoning behind the export bans that have hit 700 meat plants in 36 counties over the last two years,” Hayes said. “This is very much a case of ‘Doctor, doctor heal thyself’ as the Russians enjoy the dirtiest meat plants in the world outside of Africa.” “Unless you employ an ex-KGB man in Russia, you can forget doing business there,” Hayes continued. “I know this firsthand, having walked the walk in Moscow and St. Petersburg.” Brazil’s Foreign Relations Minister Antonio Patriota met last month in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Serguei Lavrov, to discuss a variety of trade issues. Patriota guaranteed to Lavrov that Brazil was politically committed to Russia’s entry bid for the WTO later this year, signaling that Brazil is close to accepting an agreement on quotas for meat exports, since the two issues appeared to be linked in early August. Russia’s Lavrov called for “swift” negotiations for WTO entry at the organization’s upcoming December conference. Russia will need to publish a first draft of commitments in the coming weeks on how it will open its market to further global imports if it wants to win WTO approval. AustraliaTwenty-five thousand head of cattle on one ship – a world’s record shipment. It happens as cattle exports to Indonesia continue to ramp up, as proven by the 6,500 head that left northern Queensland in September. It was the first eastern states shipment for Wellard Rural Exports since the Australian government suspended the trade earlier this year and its second since being granted an export license. A livestock carrier, the Ocean Shearer, left Townsville for Darwin, where the load will be topped up with cattle from the Northern Territory. Wellard’s managing director Steve Meerwald says the size of the final load could break some export records. “There’s a lot of demand within Indonesia and a lot of feedlotters are trying to build their numbers back up,” he said. Live cattle exports are a component of a broad effort to grow the value of the Queensland’s beef supply chain – from improving employment opportunities to addressing infrastructure needs and attracting strategic investment. The state’s Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) north region executive regional director Peter Mellor said the northern beef industry would be a special focus. “Beef cattle production has a geographic footprint of more than 90 percent of the land use in northern Queensland, and there are currently 2.5 million head on more than 2,000 holdings,” he said. The northern industry is dominated by extensive cattle breeding and growing operations – while the more intensive breeding, growing and fattening operations occur closer to higher rainfall areas near the coast. “The northern beef industry also boasts the competitive advantage of being largely a low-input grass production system,” Mellor added. “This will stand it in good stead as fuel costs to grow and harvest grains as a feed source impact grain-feeding regions.” Peter Johnston, DEEDI Agri-Science Queensland’s general manager for animal science, said DEEDI’s northern-based staff would focus on projects with industry that achieved best management practices and environmental sustainability, while ultimately promoting large-scale economic development. CanadaA free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia signed in 2008, pending ratification by their respective governments, got royal assent in Canada in June following approval in the House of Commons. Wheat, barley and lentils are currently among Canada’s main agricultural exports to Colombia, along with non-ag exports such as newsprint (paper) and off-road dump trucks. Colombia’s principal exports to Canada include coffee, bananas, coal and fuel. For beef, the trade deal calls for duty-free access for up to 5,250 metric tons per year of Canadian beef and offals. Remaining tariffs on beef will be eliminated over a 12-year period. Canada’s own over-access tariffs on its supply-managed products such as eggs, poultry and dairy goods will be exempt from tariff cuts under this deal. United KingdomA row is developing over beef imports – so what else in new? The package of fresh beef on a London supermarket shelf declares “Butcher’s Selection” Hereford beef. On the face of it, nothing could be more tasty, traditional and British. However, the small print on the back reveals that the closest this particular sirloin steak has come to Hereford is probably Southampton docks. This beef actually comes from cattle that were reared and slaughtered in Uruguay and then shipped 6,800 miles to Asda stores in Britain. Technically, Asda appears to be doing nothing wrong, as the Hereford used on the packaging refers to the cattle breed rather than the hills of Herefordshire. However, farmers in this country are outraged by what they claim is a clear case of a deception. “The use of the word Hereford suggests that it is from Herefordshire,” said the head of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Food chain unit, Lee Woodger. He is calling on Asda to change the labels to make sure people know what they are putting in their “trolley.” “We feel that this is taking away business from British farmers and is misleading,” he said. “It is not being entirely honest. It is passing something off as looking like it has UK heritage, when in fact it doesn’t. The beef is being sold alongside meat that was clearly labeled as British and Irish, and shoppers will assume it is British.” Asda is not alone in bringing in beef thousands of miles to compete with home-reared meat. Tesco recently faced controversy after it began importing “Black Angus” from the U.S. However, in this case, it was clearly labeled, added Woodger. Clint Peck is the owner of Global Beef Systems, LLC. 

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