World

FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – January 23, 2023

World US a key target for British lamb exports

EXPORTS of sheepmeat from the UK reached £407 million (about $777m) in the first 10 months of 2022, with more than 63,000t shipped across the globe.

According to the latest data from HM Revenue & Customs, between January and October both the volume and value of sheepmeat exports were up year on year, rising by 10.3% and 17.8% respectively.

In 2022, lamb from the UK returned to the United States after a 20-year absence.

The US has been a key target market for the export team of Britain’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), with market access estimated to be worth £37m to the sheep sector in the first five years of trade.

“The US is a potentially important market for our sheep sector, which is why AHDB has been hosting events and attending trade shows, to ensure millions of US consumers are able to enjoy our world-renowned lamb,” AHDB international market development director Dr Phil Hadley said.

“This year, as well as exploring new markets, a top priority for AHDB will be to work with our exporters to help support additional commercial trade to this important region and get more of our lamb on US plates.”

While most shipments of UK sheepmeat were destined for the European Union, developing country markets in Africa and the Middle East helped bolster the strong results.

Kuwait increased its imports from 184t to 742t, worth £6.4m. This marked a fourfold increase on the previous year.

Expanding into new markets around the world is crucial to maintaining the profitability of farm businesses. AHDB will continue to work in the year ahead to identify new markets in which our exporters can sell their products.

Phil Hadley Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

Shipments to Ghana rose 4.4% in volume to 988t, worth £1.2m. The EU continues to be an important market for the sheep sector, with shipments up 12.6% to more than 59,000t, worth £384m.

Looking ahead, Hadley said he expects both the domestic and EU markets to remain challenging given the current inflationary pressure, which will be particularly tough for the sheepmeat sector

WE’RE BAAACK: British lamb returned to the United States market last year after an absence of 20 years.

given that lamb is a premium product.

“The US offers a wealth of opportunities now the UK has gained market access.

“The first shipments to the US were a highlight of 2022 and we expect to grow our exports to this important market in the year ahead.

“But it is hugely important that we can continue to explore other new markets and build on last year’s impressive export figures. We anticipate that we will see growth over the coming year in the Middle East and Asian regions, where consumption of lamb is on the rise.

“Expanding into new markets around the world is crucial to maintaining the profitability of farm businesses, which is why the value of overseas trade cannot be overstated. AHDB will continue to work with the government and wider industry in the year ahead to identify new markets in which our exporters can sell their products.”

Farmers Guardian

Meat substitutes ‘may throw balance out’

INCREASING the amount of meat substitutes in processed products is likely to have “perverse” environmental consequences, according to a top academic.

Professor Sir Charles Godfray, who is director of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, told the Oxford Farming Conference in the UK that he expects most of the meat going into patés and sausages to be replaced by substitutes from nonanimal sources over the next 10 years.

“I may be wrong, but there are people who are far more bullish about it and think we will be producing textured meats such as real steaks,” he said.

“I do not think this is something industry can hide from.”

Asked whether he believed such a shift would have an impact on carcase balance, he said it could and acknowledged it is a worry.

“Companies trying to reduce their emissions could cause wastage, but they will not get charged for it, so it will work okay for their carbon balance.

“But if you looked more broadly, that could cause perverse outcomes which would make it harder for the sectors involved to meet their own net zero targets.

“I do not have a straight answer to that. It is one of those things which is not thought of very clearly by people outside the industry.”

Sir Charles called for the global food system to be “stress tested” in a desk exercise, in the way the banks are, for future crises.

“It would have to include the companies involved, like the Cargills and the Archers [Archer-

Companies trying to reduce their emissions could cause wastage, but they will not get charged for it, so it will work okay for their carbon balance. But if you looked more broadly, that could cause perverse outcomes.

Sir Charles Godfray Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food

Daniels-Midland Company],” he said.

“They would have to have trust in the process, because it would require them to disclose information they do not legally have to disclose.

“The type of things I would want to know would be that they had the economic flexibility and the logistical flexibility to respond to a major perturbation.”

Though Sir Charles said the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have been “serious tests” that the system has so far passed, he warned there is still a risk that farmers in middle- and high-income countries will not be able to afford fertiliser as a result of the conflict, leading to “relatively low” food production next year.

Farmers Guardian STRESS: Oxford’s Sir Charles Godfray has called for the global food system to be ‘stress tested’ in a desk exercise.

‘Look to market to reward sustainability’

FARMERS in the United States should not expect to be rewarded by the government for adopting more sustainable practices, because there is not “enough money”, a top American official has said.

Jason Hafemeister, who works at the US Embassy in London and is an expert on ag trade policy, also told the Oxford Farming Conference in the UK that the American administration does not believe it is possible for regulation to make farming more sustainable.

“We spent $30 billion to mitigate the trade war with China to help US farmers deal with their income issues,” he said.

“We are not going to have the money to subsidise all the things we want. We are going to have to use that market to encourage the right kind of practices.”

Hafemeister went on to say that “creating a global market” is the only way to secure continued investment in the farming sector.

“We know seed companies are not going to commercialise new seeds and animal breeders are not going to create new animal breeds if they cannot sell them to large markets,” he said.

“We know farmers are not going to adopt new practices if the new techniques they are using are banned on the world market. We need trade to create the incentives for farmers to adopt these new ways of doing things.

“And we need trade rules that are not going to discriminate based on regional differences when we are all pulling in the same direction.”

We know farmers are not going to adopt new practices if the new techniques they are using are banned on the world market. We need trade to create the incentives for farmers to adopt these new ways of doing things.