Dear readers,

Is Armistice/Remembrance day, we start with the good news from our industry:

• The U.S. September pork exports totaled 238,047 metric tons (mt), up 8% from a year ago, the value increased by 6% to $685.1 million. Through the first three quarters of the year pork export  reached 2.23 million mt, 5% above last year, while value was $6.36 billion, up 7%. According to USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom: “U.S. pork’s September performance was especially encouraging because growth was mainly driven by small and medium-sized markets in Central America, Southeast Asia and Oceania, and pork exports to Colombia continue to reach new heights.”
• U.S. Denver residents rejected Ordinance 309 to ban slaughterhouses in the city. „Activists from New Orleans and California used dark money from out of state to try and shut down this local company, but they lost to Colorado workers, farmers, ranchers and restaurateurs,” stated Ian Silverii, campaign spokesperson for „Stop the Ban. Protect Jobs,” Denver is a hub of lamb processing for the state and nation, representing 15% to 20% of U.S. lamb harvest capacity. It also provides many jobs in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Between the donors contributing to the campaign against the ban:
• $250,000 from the Meat Institute
• $171,000 from Superior Farms
• $83,000 from the Colorado Livestock Association
• $80,000 from the American Sheep Industry Association

When will we see something similar in an European country?!

• Hendrix Genetics, the global multi-species breeding company and Germany’s largest pig breeding company, BHZP, extended the distribution agreement for the db.77 boars for a further five years. Hendrix Genetics is consolidating it’s position in the European pig genetics market, after the recent merger of Hypor and Danish Genetics.
• The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) and Canadian Meat Council (CMC), two leading meat and pork association organizations in Canada are asking the federal government to establish a plan designed to protect trade access in the event that African swine fever (ASF) enters the country.

Events calendar:

• EuroTier is the leading international trade fair for professional animal farming and livestock management. The fair offers an overview of innovations and established standards, provides answers and solutions for current and future challenges. This year it takes place between 12-15 of November in Hannover, Germany. Hope to meet you there!
• The FHC China – Food & Hospitality China is an international trade fair for food and beverages, held annually in Shanghai, one of the world’s most dynamic culinary capitals. This year the FHC takes place on 3 days from Tuesday, 12.11.2024 to Thursday, 14.11.2024 
• The MEATMANIA in Sofia, Bulgaria, is an annual event held every fall, representing an important platform for professionals in the meat industry. This year it takes place on 4 days from Wednesday, 13.11.2024 to Saturday, 16.11.2024.
• SIAL InterFOOD is a leading international trade fair for the food and beverage industry, held annually at the JIExpo Jakarta International Expo in Indonesia. The SIAL InterFOOD will take place on 4 days from Wednesday, 13. November to Saturday, 16. November 2024.
• The Foodservice & Hospitality Expo is a premier event in Romania’s thriving hotel and hospitality industry. It takes place on 3 days from Saturday, 16.11.2024 to Monday, 18.11.2024 in Bucharest.

Californication

The question from the previous newsletter was cleared, Donald Trump won a second mandate as President of the United States. The surprise may come with Robert F Kennedy Jr, who said last week that he would gain “control” of the USDA and federal public health agencies if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. The Kennedy family played a major role in the politics of the U.S. in the last 90 years, RFK Jr also campaigned for the nomination as presidential candidate of the Democrats last year. Is this the end of the “K” in the Democratic Party?

Even Great Britain left the E.U. , some of the policies remained. Food industry bosses have agreed to develop a transition plan, amid warnings that consumption of red meat and dairy will need to be cut by at least 20% to meet the government’s legally binding 2030 net zero targets. What about the consumers, do they agree?

The real political surprise of the last week came from Germany. The “traffic light” coalition is over! Federal Chancellor Scholz, in a statement issued on the evening of 6 November, Scholz said his trust in Christian Lindner, Finance Minister and Chairman of the FDP, had been broken. Lindner’s dismissal was necessary in order “to avert damage to the country”, said Scholz. The Federal Chancellor will remain in office and the SPD and Greens will continue their work as a minority government. The ministries headed by the FDP will be taken over by politicians from the SPD and the Greens. Scholz announced that, despite the collapse of the coalition, he intends to put laws to the vote by the end of the year that he considers to be strategically important and which cannot be delayed. These include a package of instant measures for industry. Federal Chancellor Scholz has announced that he will call for a vote of confidence in the Bundestag on 15 January, saying that it would then be possible to hold new elections to the Bundestag by the end of March. Until then, the “greens” still dictate to the German agriculture.

Meanwhile, on the same day, in the U.S., despite a campaign spending  $2 million, Measure J initiated by the Coalition to End Factory Farming, a collection of animal rights groups that have been active for years in Sonoma County, California, has been defeated with 85% of voters rejecting it. Measure J would have placed strict limits on the size of individual animal farms, banning any farm that meets the federal definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. Advocates campaigned on the argument that larger animal farms pollute the environment and are more likely to mistreat animals .The measure, a first of its kind in the U.S., raised questions about financial costs, regulations and Sonoma County’s appetite for meat. Measure J would have impacted an estimated 21 farms that the campaign has identified as “factory farms. We need to se also in Europe some “Californication”!