000322 NCBA Applauds Proposed US Meat Export Report RuleMarch 11, 2000Washington - A USDA proposal that would require exporters to report weekly beef and pork export sales data will help ranchers make better business decisions, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said. Last week, the department published a proposed rule to add fresh, chilled and frozen beef and pork to its weekly Export Sales report, which now includes grains, soybeans, cotton and hides and skins. “By arming producers with this information, you are giving them the tools they need to make wise business decisions,” Dana Hauck, chairman of NCBA's international markets committee, said in a statement. The proposed rule, which is open for public comment until May 2, has been more than three years in the making. Motivated by concerns about increased concentration in the meatpacking industry, USDA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking in late November 1996 indicating its intention to require meat export reporting. The department received comments from a total of 57 firms, trade associations and individuals. Thirty-six of the comments were from the domestic poultry industry and only one of those supported reporting, USDA said in a March 3 Federal Register notice. The poultry industry based its opposition on the high degree of vertical integration in the industry, the widespread use of grower contracts, and concerns about possible disclosure of sensitive proprietary information, USDA said. NCBA hailed the proposed rule as the first of several the department will issue because of mandatory livestock price reporting legislation approved last fall by Congress. The new law requires meatpackers to report to USDA twice a day the prices they pay for cattle, pigs and sheep to ensure small farmers receive fair prices for their livestock.
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