Posted on 08/01/2005 2:38:59 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer
Canadian hog numbers may be off by nearly 500,000 head. Inaccurate statistics reported by the Statistics Canada, can affect production decisions by U.S. hog producers, said Steve Meyer, Paragon Economics, Des Moines, Iowa.
"With the focus on Canadian-American trade (cattle), it is probably time to look at the flow of pigs from Canada thus far in 2005," he said.
The number of Canadian hogs into the United States has slowed over last year even with duty-free trade rules in place. Still, Meyer said when comparing Canadian hog slaughter and export statistics, 458,417 hogs are unaccounted for.
"Where did those pigs go?" he asked.
Calculating the pig crop based on pigs born not pigs saved, Meyer wonders if Canada's pig death loss increased that much in one year.
"I seriously doubt it," he said.
Pork producers have been riding a high market in the last couple of years partly because consumers turned to pork since several cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy have been found in Canadian and U.S. cattle herds. With the hog market softening somewhat, Meyer said it is "critical" for the industry to have accurate counts on "potential production changes" in the pig herd.
"The statistics services on both sides of the border have a difficult and important job to do," he said. "I do not mean to denigrate them or their efforts. But we need data that gets closer to the actual numbers."
Meyer outlined three steps for remedy. First, producers on both sides of the border need to respond to government questionnaires with accurate numbers. Second, both U.S. Department of Agriculture and Statistics Canada must work diligently to match current data for more accurate market analysis, and third, both countries' hog number reporting systems need to be more closely aligned in data and timing.
In other pork industry news, Kara Flynn with the National Pork Producers Council, said the Central American Free Trade Agreement-Domincan Republic has been at the top of her lobbying list. Efforts paid off for the NPPC -- who Flynn says has been leading the charge ahead of about 90 other farm-related groups -- to erase trade borders between the United States and six Central American countries including the Dominican Republic.
CAFTA-DR passed with a 217-215 House vote on Wednesday.
While the NPPC said the income level of most Central American consumers "does not currently permit the consumption of meat on a regular basis, the prosperity created by another FTA (free trade agreement) will create millions of new customers."
Duty-free hog export quotas will phase in over time until 2015, when trade in all pork products will be duty and quota free.
According to Iowa State University economist, Dermot Hayes, U.S. pork exports to CAFTA-DR will grow by 20,000 tons annually, increasing U.S. live hog prices by 36 cents per hog. Hog production is highly competitive, and even a modest price difference can determine if a producers survives in business, the NPPC said.
Meyers agreed the market is not huge for producers.
"CAFTA-DR is more a referendum on the president's ability to make trade agreements," he said. "It's not a huge deal, but is important in the World Trade Organization's Doha Round of negotiations."
Organizations opposing CAFTA-DR have listed loss of national independence or sovereignty to hemispheric rule, but Flynn said, "We don't consider sovereignty issues at all."
"Passage of CAFTA-DR is absolutely fantastic and will add to pork producers' bottom line," she said.
It appears, sadly, the same can be said for the House.
Since the American citizen and taxpayer grants tax exempt status to this organization, and they care nothing for our sovereignty, should we continue to grant them this status?
Its a very sorry state of affairs when an organization that doesn't pay taxes has more sway with the federal government than taxpaying American citizens.
There's Michael Moore joke in there somewhere.
"Since the American citizen and taxpayer grants tax exempt status to this organization, and they care nothing for our sovereignty, should we continue to grant them this status?"
Just try getting it revoked. The people in our government who could revoke their status don't care.
We are permitting our leaders to bend us towards submission by foreigners. This is a necessity if the UN is to hold supreme authority.
You are right on target.
Most traitors to America don't, and that includes our Congress who ratified this treasonous piece of trash. And thanks to Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh who got NAFTA ratified. It was only the stepping stone toward loss of our national sovereignty, which even doubters can't fail to see but won't admit it.
Hugo Chavez is literally screaming about CAFTA. It is causing him great pain. He knows that having Central America bound by ties to the US is going to kill him. It's going to make all his oil billions worthless. He knows CAFTA is the only thing out there more powerful than his oil billions. His MasterPlan For The TakeOver Of The Americas is sunk, absolutely sunk!
VIVA CAFTA!
So America should give up its sovereignty as a nation, just to defeat a tinpot south american communist? How does that defeat him, when it is guaranteed to destroy America? Sounds to me like he wins, if we lose our sovereignty to the rest of the hemisphere.
And come on. There has to be another way to do it without destroying the future for our children!
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