US meat exporters urge speed on Farm Bill
His call follows last week’s news that the European Union (EU) would be more aggressively promoting its agricultural exports through marketing campaigns.
USMEF spokesperson Jim Herlihy said: “We have proposals in our Congress for spending in support of [agricultural] exports; a lot of that comes through the Farm Bill. So we remain hopeful that that funding will be approved,” said Herlihy.
However, he complained that Congressional approval to renew this key five-year bill, expected last year, had been delayed and remained uncertain, with the Obama administration and its Republican opponents seeking to cut spending overall. The bill outlines the government’s support of food and agricultural programmes; for instance, USMEF received about US$15.6m of its US$40m budget in the current fiscal year from government funding.
This gives the federation the ability to fund marketing and Herlihy says there is a good story to tell. US products can and should remain competitive with high-quality exports such as beef, pork, and lamb, he told globalmeatnews.com. The US industry benefits from a reputable grading system and as one of the largest suppliers of grain-fed products, which he claimed have a higher-quality taste and product consistency than grass-fed products. Government funding helps educate foreign markets about these qualities, while connecting with importers.
Herlihy said the EU’s proposed marketing reforms are one aspect of an increasingly competitive international meat market. Many meat exporting countries are targeting international markets that will pay more for meat products than domestic markets – for instance, exporting beef tongues and pork feet to Asian markets. “It’s a competitive situation,” he said.
Also, US meat suppliers are struggling to maintain production, notably because of drought and high grain prices, especially for beef cattle, said Herhily. “That’s probably the biggest challenge to even maintaining, let alone, increasing exports,” he said.
