China. It is never easy. We can never take anything for granted.
For the past several years, the National Renderers Association (NRA) has been working diligently to expand U.S. exports of rendered products into China. Through the tireless efforts of members and staff alike, the NRA has enjoyed the success of watching this export market grow significantly for U.S. products, especially meat and bone meal (MBM).
This market grew and came into being as the United States transitioned into living with a feed rule that severely limited the use of MBM in North America. The NRA hosted teams every year from China, showing them how U.S. renderers produced a good quality and safe product that would help them in developing their own livestock, poultry, and aquaculture industries. Those efforts were paying off.
Then this spring we were reminded just how fragile U.S. export markets can be. Chinese officials declared that much of the U.S. product going into Shanghai tested positive for ovine material. The Chinese had declared a virtual zero tolerance for the inclusion of ovine material in MBM because of their fear of scrapie. As of this writing, close to 5,000 tons of North American product was being detained.
The association is working very hard on two fronts. In the short term, the NRA, with the assistance of U.S. government officials, is trying to convince Chinese officials that the product is safe and should be allowed into commerce. There should be no hesitancy on the part of the Chinese to use this MBM in their pork, poultry, and aquaculture industries.
In the longer term, U.S. government officials would like to persuade the Chinese that post-entry inspections are not necessary based on systems and practices already in the United States, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service certification, that provide them the assurances of a safe product. The concern over scrapie is exaggerated. We need to get it put into perspective.
The NRA also wants to take a closer look at the tests that are used. At this point, it appears that the polymerase chain reaction test, better known as PCR, being used in China might be too sensitive. I don’t profess to know much on the technical side of this subject, so I will leave this discussion up to the technical and scientific people, but we need to have a test that is recognizable and acceptable by all parties involved.
The association’s efforts to resolve this issue have been severely hampered because of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which has essentially shut down all activity in China. A U.S. team was prepared to go to China in early April only to be grounded because of the illness. With all of our efforts to seek resolution, SARS is beyond our control. We only hope the Chinese can get this disease under control and get back to some normality.
U.S. exports going into other markets have been challenged as well. In many cases, these challenges have been resolved to our satisfaction. The NRA is fortunate to have international market directors in Hong Kong, London, and Mexico City. During the past two months each of them has been there to step in and assist efforts to keep the markets open when a problem or challenge arose. The NRA staff in the home office has also been heavily involved in industry efforts to keep U.S. markets open. I must also give credit to USDA representatives that have been there to assist us. Rendering issues are just part of a long list of issues they are expected to address every day.
A good product and a marketing plan are no longer the only components to developing an export market. Gaining access to the market and then keeping the market open must be factored into every effort.
Member support for the NRA International Market Development Committee (IMDC) is extremely important in order to seek and develop U.S. export marketing efforts. Member companies of the IMDC experience the benefits of the program every day. Members provide a valuable resource to the IMDC not only financially, but also in assisting with industry knowledge and market information. Whether a renderer exports or not, the successes of a growing export market benefits everyone.
If you want to know more about the IMDC and its programs, contact Kent Swisher, NRA vice president for International Programs, at kswisher@nationalrenderers.com, or call (703) 683-3561.
From the Association - June 2003 Render