Global context

Ongoing Concern Over H5n1 Avian Influenza

H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to worry poultry producers worldwide. Argentina suspended poultry exports from the end of February through late March until it could establish regionalisation agreements with certain importers. Moreover, the scientific community remains vigilant to cases in mammals (including the first human cases for Ecuador and Chile, both identified this quarter) but at this point, infections are understood to have come from contact with infected birds, rather than from mammal-to-mammal transmission. To read more about the impacts of HPAI on poultry production, see pages 6-12.

Trials In The Philippines Of Vietnamese Asf Vaccine

KPP Powers Commodities Inc, a Philippine distributor of feed additive and animal health products, is trialling a Vietnamese vaccine against African Swine Fever (ASF) under the supervision of the animal health authorities. The vaccine in question is that made by AVAC Vietnam JSC To read more about the AVAC ASF vaccine, see page 31.

Bse Case Halts Some Brazilian Beef Exports

Markets including China and Russia halted some or all imports of Brazilian beef after the country reported a positive test for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow) in late February. The case was eventually determined to be atypical, meaning that it is a variant of the disease that appears spontaneously, rather than being spread through contaminated cattle feed. Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have also reported atypical BSE cases this quarter.

Raw Pet Food Spreads Bovine Tb To Cats And Humans In Netherlands

Commercially available raw pet food is believed to have caused infections by the bovine tuberculosis bacteria Mycobacterium bovis in the Netherlands, with cats consuming the food spreading it to humans in two households. The Dutch authorities have issued an RASFF alert about German-origin raw pet food containing ruminant lung material probably implicated in the incident.

Structural Changes And Job Cuts Ahead For German Chemical Giants

Evonik has announced plans to transform its animal nutrition division by separating its amino acids business and specialties business operating models. As part of the plan, approximately 200 job cuts worldwide can be expected. Meanwhile, BASF has also announced plans to cut jobs and reduce production at its Ludwigshafen site in Germany, although these changes are not concentrated within its animal nutrition operations but are group-wide.

Both crop and animal agriculture are sources of nitrogen emissions, and farmers have been pushing back against measures to curb these emissions in the Netherlands and parts of Belgium.

Cj And Ajinomoto Settle Tryptophan Patent Litigation In Germany

Ajinomoto revealed in January that it has reached a settlement with CJ Group in a lawsuit relating to the import and sales of feeduse amino acid tryptophan products. The suit had been filed in Düsseldorf District Court on 10 May 2016.

Abbreviated Extension Of Black Sea Grain Deal

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has allowed some agricultural goods to ship from Ukraine despite the ongoing conflict in the country, was renewed again. Although this prevented it from lapsing in March, Russia has only agreed to an extension of 60 days, instead of the 120 of the previous extension. Russia has said it is unhappy about the obstacles to its own agricultural exports, including the difficulty in payment resulting from its isolation from international banking systems.

Benelux Farmers Push Back Against Nitrogen Emissions Regulation

Flemish farmers took to the streets of Brussels in early March to protest the impacts of a regional plan to reduce nitrogen emissions. The move echoes the contentious debate over the implementation of European nitrogen regulations which has been taking place for years in the Netherlands, where a farmers’ protest party organised around the issue, BoerBurgerBeweging, did very well in recent provincial elections in the quarter.

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