Philadelphia, PA - Soon after assuming the presidency of the American Meat Institute, Kenneth Taylor said that demand for meat and meat byproducts was the number one concern of the industry, and a significant portion of that demand has been hurt by the problems in Asia and Russia.
Russia buys large amounts of beef livers, cattle hides and chicken wings, which represent important income to U.S. meat packers. The loss of that market has cut liver prices in half and forced many into storage or pet food. Sales of chicken wings have slowed and hide prices have fallen by a third, said Taylor.
Taylor's own beef company, Taylor Packing Co. in Wyalusing, Pa., has lost sales.
AMI estimated that normally 15% of U.S. chicken, 10% of U.S. beef and 6% of pork are exported annually, a significant improvement from 15 years ago when very little meat was exported. But, now the loss of key buyers has hurt the industry.
Taylor remains optimistic business will return and still considers the Asian market a potential growth area.
The AMI publication, Meat and Poultry Facts, showed Japan bought more than 500,000 tonnes of U.S. beef and pork in 1997, more than three times that of Mexico, the second leading buyer.
Taylor said South Korea and Russia have been leading markets for cattle hides, but hide prices dropped sharply early this year when sales slowed to South Korea. Just when that market appeared to be recovering, Russia stopped buying, which slashed prices by a third to about $40 per hide, he said.
In 1997, South Korea bought nearly 7.5 million cattle hides at a value of $454.6 million, more than double second place buyer Taiwan's 2.86 million hides.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
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