| Livestock
disease outbreaks and trade restrictions have most impacted
cattle and beef trade in the global meat economy, a new
report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic
Research Service states.
U.S.
beef exports reached record levels in 2003, and were second
only to Australia's beef exports that year, when the U.S.-Canada
border was closed in May 2003 to live cattle and beef shipments
following the discovery of a BSE- infected cow in Alberta.
Later, near the end of the year, dozens of foreign markets
for U.S. beef were closed after USDA announced that a BSE-infected
cow had also been found in Washington state.
As
a result, U.S. beef exports in 2004 were down 82 per cent
from the previous year. The U.S. share of total global beef
exports dropped from 18 per cent to three per cent, according
to the USDA report. Beef imports into the U.S. in 2004 were
14 per cent higher than that record level set in 2002.
However,
pork exports have trended upward in recent years, and pork
imports into the U.S. have declined. According to USDA,
U.S. pork exports are expected to rise 21 per cent to 2.6
billion pounds, the 14th consecutive annual record level.
The
USDA report, “Disease-Related Trade Restrictions Shaped
Animal Product Markets in 2004 and Stamp Imprints on 2005
Forecasts,” is available for Internet download at usda.gov/publications
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