Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial - EU Council Fails to Agree on Cloning

Despite the best efforts from the Hungarian Presidency, the conciliation on novel foods failed after more than three years of negotiations, and the EU will stay with the status quo that cloning is not prohibited but foods must receive pre-market approval.

The Council has exhausted every possibility trying to reach a balanced solution on novel foods, it is reported, and in particular on the question of food from cloned animals.

It stated it was strongly committed to find a compromise which met consumers' concerns about marketing and information about foods from cloned animals and their offspring. The Council wanted a solution that could be implemented in practice yet also comply with the international trade rules that the EU, with the European Parliament's consent, has signed.

The discussion reportedly failed because of European Parliament's inability to compromise on its request for mandatory labelling for food derived from offspring of cloned animals irrespective of the technical feasibility and the practical implications of such mandatory labelling.

Commissioner Dalli commented: "After months of discussion on the Novel Food Regulation, many improvements had been agreed upon by the institutions. These included a legal definition of nano-materials and their mandatory labelling, a centralised and quicker authorisation procedure to facilitate innovation from the food industry and specific measures for traditional foods from third countries.

"If implemented this would have been beneficial for both consumers and the food industry. It is thus a great pity that we have lost the opportunity to codify these aspects already now," he said.

High commodity prices appear to be here to stay for some time, despite a US Department of Agriculture report issued yesterday that projects increased US corn acreage this year, said a Purdue University agricultural economist.

The Prospective Plantings report projects that corn farmers will plant more corn acres and fewer soybeans. Corinne Alexander said the report, coupled with lower-than-expected US grain inventories, offers little hope for relief from high commodity prices. The same opinion was expressed recently by David Nelson of Rabobank, speaking at the official opening of the VIV Asia 2011 show in Thailand last month.

Concerns have been expressed at a meeting organised by BPEX in the UK that, faced with the prospect of empty supermarket shelves, the European Commission may introduce a derogation on the introduction of the sow stall ban. As this housing system has been banned in the UK already for some years, any delay in introducing the ban would prolong the disadvantageous cost position of the country's producers.

And finally, new outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) have been reported in the last week in China and Chad.

Jackie Linden

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This Week's Feature Articles

Company News

Emerging Markets Set Record for VIV Asia
THAILAND - VIV Asia attracted almost 40 per cent more visitors than the 2009 edition.

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Colostrum Key for Piglet Survival
UK - Maternal colostrum is vital for newborn piglets as both their primary energy supply and for immune protection.

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Meriden Opens Subsidiary in Australia
AUSTRALIA - Meriden Animal Health Limited has recently opened a new office in Australia, further consolidating its sales network in South-East Asia and Australasia.

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BPEX Board Members Step Down
UK - Two long-standing members of the BPEX board have decided to stand as their terms come to an end.

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CID Lines Launches New Company Logo
UK - CID LINES is proud to announce you the launch of the new company logo.

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In-Depth Guide to BPEX Activities
UK - An in-depth look at the pig production and performance work carried out by BPEX in the past year has been published.

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Woodruff Sweitzer Named PR Agency of Record
US - Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri, has selected Woodruff Sweitzer as its public relations agency of record for its swine products division.

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Global Pig Industry News

China

 » FMD NEWS: Xinjiang Reports FMD Outbreak in Pigs
 » Chinese Crackdown on Contaminated Pig Feed
 » System to Assess Govt Food Safety Supervision
 » Tainted Pork Case 'an Isolated Incident'
 » More Pigs, More Feed Grain Demand in China
 » Pig Farmers Told to Drug Livestock
 » China Prosecutes 16 Officials in Pork Scandal

Australia

 » Conference on Genomics & Future Food Production
 » Pork CRC Scientists Consulted by Pig Vets

United States

 » Market Preview: Trends in Pig Crop Report
 » Weekly Outlook: Hog Price Peak Coming Soon?
 » Biodiesel Returns US Soybean Farmers? Investment
 » CME: Great Interest Shown in Upcoming USDA Report
 » March 2011 Hog and Pig Report Summary
 » March Quarterly Hogs & Pigs Report Analysis
 » High Commodity Prices Continue in Light of Report
 » Breeding Herd, Market Hog Inventory Up on 1 March
 » CME: Grain Futures Continue to Drive Demand

European Union

 » EU Pig Prices: Optimistic Mood - Steady To Friendly
 » EC Fails to Agree on Cloning, Novel Foods

Canada

 » Pork Commentary: Hogs & Pigs Report - More of the Same
 » Reducing Risk of Pigs Becoming Fatigued
 » Praise for New Risk Management Programme
 » FTA with Korea Remains Pork Industry Priority
 » Increased Use of Alternative Feed Ingredients
 » Opportunities to Increase Utilisation of DDGS
 » Exploring Alternative Sow Housing Options
 » Fire Kills 2000 Pigs
 » Meeting Pork Industry Sustainability Commitments

Korea, South

 » Korea Permits Toxin Banned in China

Hong Kong

 » Yurun Food Reports 56 Per Cent Profit Jump

United Kingdom

 » Doubts Over Partial Stalls Ban
 » British Pig Industry Does Have a Future
 » UFU Awaits Results of Pig Industry Review
 » International Conference on Food Security Opens
 » NADIS BPEX Commentary ? March 2011
 » No April Foolery Here...

Chad

 » One New ASF Outbreak in Chad

General

 » Feed Price Jump Impacts Pig Producers
 » Groupe Grimaud, PEN AR LAN Form Genetics Alliance
 » AFBF Delegation in Panama, Colombia to Support FTAs



That's all for this week!

Ed.