TPP countries are reportedly set to begin a chief negotiators meeting in Guam within the next couple days (rather than a ministerial meeting in the Philippines, as previously reported). The meetings could end in a gathering of ministers, depending on progress with TPA. (Inside U.S. Trade, 5/14/15, 5/13/15; Wall Street Journal, 5/13/15; Reuters, 5/11/15; 5/8/15)
Welcome new members!
USDEC is pleased to welcome two new allied organizations to the membership ranks: Nutrasumma, Glendale, Ariz.; and Immunotec Research Inc., Commerce, Calif. Board representatives are Nutrasumma’s founder Ben Mei (ben@nutrasumma.com) and Immunotec Director of Supply Chain Management France Lauriault (flauriault@immunotec.com).
Amsterdam welcomes Global Dairy Congress and Infant Nutrition Conference
The 9th Global Dairy Congress and 2nd Infant Nutrition Conference take place back-to-back in Amsterdam, June 23-26. The three-day Congress features speakers from leading dairy manufacturers around the world, including Dairy Farmers of America, China’s Yili Group, India’s Mother Dairy, Japan’s Meiji, New Zealand’s Fonterra and, from host country The Netherlands, FrieslandCampina.
The daylong Nutrition Conference follows the Congress and features a presentation from USDEC Senior VP, Strategy and Insights, Véronique Lagrange, on dairy ingredient use in nutritional products for the critical first 1,000 days of life. For details on the Global Dairy Congress, click here. For details on the Infant Nutrition Conference, click here.
Lisbon vote on new GI system expected May 20
The Lisbon Union, a group within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), expects to vote May 20 on sweeping revisions to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin. The new system will dramatically expand international protections for geographic indications (GIs).
The Lisbon Union is still refusing full participation from other WIPO nations that haven’t signed onto the Lisbon Agreement, despite repeated requests by multiple countries, including the United States (see Global Dairy eBrief, 2/19/15), to follow an inclusive, consensus-based approach that respects all WIPO members in the development of new international norms. This lockout of the broader WIPO membership, driven by several European countries, contradicts past WIPO practice.
The United States has led efforts to fight this threat to common names and communicate the implications of the proposed system to other nations. This week, at the start of the Lisbon Agreement diplomatic conference in Geneva, Switzerland, U.S. Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto, permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, delivered a strong statement again pointing out U.S. concerns about the refusal to allow input on the measure from all WIPO members. She also noted that the United States and 11 additional countries re-submitted a proposal for the Lisbon Union to abide by its history of inclusiveness and open the conference to accept full participation and contributions from all WIPO members. For a copy of Ambassador Hamamoto’s comments, click here. (USDEC staff; U.S. government; Lisbon Union)
EU seeks GI protections in Mexico ahead of new FTA talks
Italy submitted applications to Mexico to protect the names asiago and gorgonzola under the auspices of the Lisbon Agreement. As a Lisbon member, Mexico has a limited period of time to decline to protect the terms. The government has not yet taken action. The Consortium for Common Food Names, founded by USDEC, is working with Mexico and local cheesemakers to ensure the continued use of common names.
The EU and Mexico also announced they would launch negotiations toward a new FTA. Although the two sides have been operating under a free trade deal since 2000, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said their relationship needed to adapt to “a new reality” of trade barriers. The talks are certain to include GIs, given the EU’s GI tactics. Plus, Malmström said she envisioned the deal would be similar to the EU’s Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement with Canada, which contains restrictive GI provisions.
Malmström plans to request a mandate from the European Council to launch talks this fall. EU officials are expected to discuss the timing of talks in more detail at an EU-Latin America summit in Brussels on June 12. (USDEC staff; Dairy Markets, 5/12/15; Washington Trade Daily, 5/12/15)
El Niño gains strength
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced El Niño’s arrival in early March, but at the time, the agency said the event would be weak, short-lived and have little impact on global weather patterns. Two months later, Australian and Japanese weather services have a much more serious take.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed that the first El Niño weather phenomenon since 2010 has officially arrived. Australia is predicting a moderate to strong El Niño, and Japan expects the weather event will likely last at least through autumn. Key indicators have steadily intensified since the start of the 2015.
Although a number of factors feed into weather patterns, El Niño has been linked to excessive dryness in Southeast Asia, Australia, eastern South America and West Africa, excessive precipitation in Southern Brazil, heavy rains in the central United States and insufficient monsoon rainfall in India. (NOAA; Financial Times, 5/12/15; Agrimoney.com, 5/12/15)
Food safety workshops offer expert instruction, hands-on training
A food safety mishap may not only threaten the health of consumers but also the health and viability of a business. While all companies have some form of food safety plan in place, it pays to make sure those plans are up to the challenge in these times of heightened sensitivities to contamination, adulteration and substandard products.
Members of the Food Safety Team at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy have collaborated to create a series of workshops geared to strengthen a company’s food safety controls. The workshops combine lectures with hands-on, interactive exercises and explore a range of topics, including pathogen control, environmental monitoring, sanitary design, corrective actions and sanitation.
Dairy Plant Food Safety Workshops are slated for Baraboo, Wis., June 2-3; Green Bay, Wis., Aug. 11-12; and Coopersville, Mich., Oct. 13-14. All three cover both wet and dry product operations, but the Michigan event specifically focuses on dairy powder manufacturing. For more details or to register, click here.
LOGISTICS
AgTC annual meeting provides insight into port problems
The West Coast port slowdown ended in February and the terminals now say they expect to be back to “normal” operation by the end of this month. But whether normal will be good enough in an era of ever-larger ships and rising container volumes is up for debate. The ports require billions in investments to upgrade for the future (see Global Dairy eBrief, 4/23/15).
The Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) will tackle the status of West Coast ports and a range of other issues critical to U.S. ag shippers at its 27th annual meeting, June 24-26, in San Francisco. The meeting features sessions on best practices, the West Coast port aftermath, East Coast and Gulf shipping options, the trucking and chassis crisis, rail service and other logistics matters. Ample time is earmarked for networking. To view the full agenda, including a speaker list, click here. USDEC is an AgTC member, so USDEC members can attend at the membership rate. (AgTC; Journal of Commerce, 5/11/15)
MARKET CONDITIONS
New Zealand farmers in the red
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand estimates that about one quarter of the nation’s dairy farmers are currently operating with negative cash flow. A follow-up poor season in 2015/16 would see a bump in the number of dairy foreclosures, the bank said, particularly if land values begin to fall, as they typically do when farm incomes decline. (BusinessDesk, 5/13/15; Interest.co.nz, 5/13/15)
China revokes production licenses of two infant formula makers
China announced results from its latest round of infant formula monitoring. The Chinese Food and Drug Administration flagged 48 products that violated product standards ranging from incorrect labeling to aflatoxin contamination. Forty-four were Chinese brands, four were imports. Chinese authorities also revoked the production licenses from two infant formula makers, one in Hunan, another in Shanxi. Both companies failed inspections.
CDFA received 562,402 complaints and tip-offs about food, pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, cosmetics and medical equipment last year, double the number that was lodged the previous year. Three-quarters of those complaints were related to food. (Want China Times, 5/8/15; DairyReporter.com, 4/1/15)
COMPANY NEWS
Glanbia, Teagasc team up
Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII) and Ireland’s Teagasc signed a cooperation agreement to deliver “next generation,” value-added dairy ingredients for a range of applications globally. GII and Teagasc personnel will work together at the Teagasc Food Research Centre in Moorepark, County Fermoy, which boasts extensive pilot plant capabilities. “With the abolition of milk quotas and an increasing milk pool, there is a need for rapid transfer of scientific know-how for development of dairy ingredients with new end uses in export markets,” said Teagasc Director Professor Gerry Boyle. (Company reports)
Company news briefs
Fonterra Co-operative Group completed a new IQF mozzarella manufacturing plant at its Clandeboye site . . . More than 90 percent of Murray Goulburn suppliers voted to adopt a new capital structure that will tap outside investors and raise an estimated A$500 million (see Global Dairy eBrief, 4/16/15) . . . Mexico’s Grupo Lala inaugurated Phase I of its new $50 million manufacturing plant in San Benito, Nicaragua. The facility will process fluid milk and other dairy products . . . Irish whey product specialist Carbery says it expects to increase production 10-15 percent this year in the absence of EU milk quotas . . . Lithuanian dairy Rokiskio is licensing its trademark to an unnamed Russian dairy processor to “maintain recognition” in Russia until the embargo is lifted. The Russian company will market cheese under the Rokiskio name . . . Wendy’s International opened its first store in India. The company is pursuing a premium strategy in the nation, selling sandwiches at twice the typical price point of competitors McDonald’s and KFC. (Company reports; DairyReporter.com, 5/13/15; Food Business Review, 5/12/15; Dairy Trader, 5/11/15; Economic Times, 5/6/15; Irish Times, 4/30/15)
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