| China threatens to close dairy export market pending agreement |
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Speaking of trade, a dispute with China threatened to slow dairy price recovery, according to Dairy Profit Weekly Editor Dave Natzke. Speaking in Friday’s broadcast, Natzke reported that a small, but growing market for U.S. dairy exports could be closed as early as May 1, after Chinese officials abruptly said they would no longer accept terms of a 2007 agreement. However, Friday they agreed to give the U.S. 30 days to work with authorities to secure an agreement on a new health certificate for food-grade dairy exports to China.
The Chinese government informed U.S. officials April 22 that it intended to block imports of U.S. dairy products due to alleged deficiencies in “export certification.” In negotiations for the 2007 agreement, China had requested certification statements regarding animal health issues, which the USDA said were unnecessary for dairy products made from pasteurized milk. China eventually signed the English/Chinese USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Sanitary Certificate agreement without that language. However, in last week’s letter, China apparently retracted that decision.
The value of 2008 U.S. dairy exports to China totaled about $180 million, or about 5 percent of the record $3.8 billion in dairy products exported that year. According to the U.S. Dairy Export Council, primary products were whey proteins, milk powders and lactose. As of late this week, U.S. officials hoped to avert the trade blockade, or at least request an extension to the May 1 deadline, so negotiations can continue.
Forgive me but is this not “the pot calling the kettle black,” considering the very real problems the U.S. has had with imports from China from toys, toothpaste, and drywall. Does the word melamine ring a bell?
May means dairy policy reform on Capitol Hill
May could also be a pivotal month for the future of any federal dairy policy reforms, according to Natzke. A team of economists are evaluating the economic impact of policy proposals, including several supply or so-called growth management plans, on dairy farmers.
California Representative Jim Costa is reportedly close to introducing a dairy supply management bill in the House. And, the Dairy Policy Action Coalition said a bill to fund mandatory, daily price reporting of dairy product sales is also advancing. Finally, the National Milk Producers Federation is expected to provide details of its Dairy Producers Income Protection Program in May.
National Milk is renewing its call on the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on the misuse of dairy terms like milk, cheese, and yogurt by imitation products made from soy, rice, almonds, and hemp. Chris Galen reported Thursday that NMPF sent a petition to the FDA in 2000 asking for a crack down on processors using dairy terms, primarily milk with “things that don’t got milk.”
The Federation predicted that, if the FDA did not do this, there would be a proliferation of those labels and other products and “sure enough 10 years later,” Galen said, “We’re seeing soy cheese, hemp milk, and non-dairy ice cream.”
He pointed out that there are standards of identity and “If you use terms like ice cream, cheese, yogurt, or milk, they must be made from dairy milk, milk from the lactation of an animal. You can’t make dairy products out of hemp or rice or soy.”
Galen reported that they received no response in its initial call on the FDA, calling it “frustrating because we felt that we had a good case and we still feel, 10 years later, that we have a good case, in fact we have a better case because we’re seeing a bevy of new artificial dairy products reaching store shelves that have imitation products made from hemp, rice, almonds, plants, legumes, and vegetables. He added that, in some cases marketers create new words like cheese, spelled with a Z instead of an S “to skirt the standards of identity.”
This isn’t just a labeling issue, according to Galen, because a lot of these products do not have the same nutritional value as real dairy products do and consumers of so-called rice or soy milk think they’re getting the same vitamin and mineral content as real cow’s milk, but they aren’t.
Seven Valleys, Penn. dairy producer and Beef Board member Joyce Bupp talked about the importance of farmers “telling their story” in Wednesday’s DairyLine. Bupp is in the process of completing the beef checkoff’s Masters of Beef Advocacy program. She said the program is designed to take information that farmers are very familiar with everyday, but don’t give a lot of thought to and put it into a compiled, easy-to-read form that reinforces what farmers do. She said it includes information on modern meat production, animal care, beef safety, nutrition, and “things that consumers, neighbors, and friends are interested in.”
She acknowledged there is an information gap among consumers and said it’s sad because people are interested in what farmers do and are supportive once they know, but “there’s such a disconnect of a lot of society today from agriculture that they just don’t understand; they’re really hungering for information.”
She agreed to the importance of farmers telling their story before someone else does it for them because “there are a lot of organizations out there with agendas and large advertising dollars.” She admitted that farmers don’t have a lot of dollars, but “we do have a lot of care and belief in our industry, a lot of passion for what we do so it really behooves us as producers to be ready to step up to the plate and educate ourselves.”
The program “makes us more comfortable with what we’re talking about,” she said. “We know what we do, but it just helps us to organize our thoughts and have some facts at hand and be better spokespersons for our industry.” |
| 5/5/2010 |
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