Agricultural News
USMEF Prepares for a Leaner Year as the Threat of Increased Competition Grows from Down Under
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 11:38:25 CST
As the US Meat Export Federation says farewell to its longtime Chief Executive Officer Phil Seng, it is welcoming Seng's replacement, Dan Halstrom, a longtime employee of the Federation himself. However, Halstrom told Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Associate Farm Director Carson Horn during a recent trip to Kansas City for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention, that his promotion is not about replacing Seng, but rather complimenting his years of great work, which is made evident in the progress of beef exports here in 2017.
"Year to date, we're running about $280/head for every fed animal slaughtered that's accountable to the value of the export business. That's exciting," Halstrom said. "The other beauty of it is, we have a good base of established markets - Japan, Korea, Mexico - and that's great."
Halstrom says that while it is important to maintain those existing markets, he insists that it is equally important to nurture some emerging markets as well, like those seen in Central and South America, as well as Africa and Indonesia where the demand for beef variety meats is very high. He says having a diverse portfolio of markets to supply helps to add value back to producers. One highlight in 2017, is the huge amount of sales into Japan. But with Australia ramping up its production and holding a tariff advantage over the US in Japan as a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Halstrom says 2018 is a bit of a worry. Especially with the added uncertainty of the ongoing NAFTA negotiations.
"As Australia comes out with more production in 2018, it's going to be a little tougher in terms of increased competition. We just need to be ready for that," he said. "Meanwhile, we're in the process of renegotiating NAFTA and quite honestly, the business between Canada and Mexico - it's been just phenomenal for the US beef industry. We have to maintain what we have today."
Listen to USMEF's new CEO Dan Halstrom's overview of the opportunities and challenges that exist in today's US beef export business, with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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