Free Trade Agreements Welcomed by US Poultry Industry

US poultry and egg producers, processors and exporters are united in their strong support for the decisive passage and subsequent signing of legislation to implement free trade agreements (FTAs) with Korea, Colombia and Panama. President Obama signed the agreements last week. The industries have supported and urged approval of these agreements since negotiations were concluded more than four years ago.

The future success of the US poultry and egg industry heavily depends on continued expansion of exports, according to a joint statement from USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation and United Egg Producers. It is estimated that the three FTAs will generate almost $1.4 billion in additional US poultry and egg export sales annually when the agreements are fully implemented. USDA calculates that the industry's current annual exports of nearly $4.4 billion supports more than 50,400 US jobs and that each billion dollars in US poultry and egg exports equates to about 11,525 American jobs.

In Australia, nationwide consultations are being held to establish clear definitions for terms such as 'free-range' and 'free to roam' for hens and broilers to narrow the gap between industry practice and consumer perceptions.

In the EU, the European Commission is putting forward new proposals to improve the protection of consumers and industry against possible future dioxin contamination of foods, following last winter's crisis.

At the latest meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg, discussions included the implementation of the laying hens directive.

The Commission presented to Ministers their assessment of the current state of implementation of the ban on conventional cages across the EU, based on the data received by member states and on the outcomes of its inspections. Following this evaluation, the Commission considers that the implementation is still incomplete in some member states and regrets that information is still missing for some countries, prompting concerns about egg supplies in the region after the January deadline.

And finally, a new on-line database, Vetvac.org, aims to become a unique free 'one-stop' source of information on all the livestock and poultry vaccines produced throughout the world.