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NEWS BITES

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VIETNAM APPROVES WORLD’S FIRST COMMERCIAL ASF VACCINE

The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) issued an approval for the commercial use of a vaccine against African Swine Fever. This will be the world’s first licensed vaccine against the virus. The vaccine was developed by NAVETCO based on the ASFV-G- ∆I177L technology licensed from the USDA ARS.

UKRAINIAN GRAIN EXPORTS DISRUPTED

With Black Sea ports out of commission because of a Russian blockade and Ukrainian mines, Ukrainian grain exports have fallen as the country must shift to less practical truck, train, and river barge transport. These channels are swamped with demand and hindered by incompatible infrastructure (for example, the different gauge for rolling stock between former USSR territories and EU members like Poland). Moreover, facilities and infrastructure are being degraded by military action (for example, a Viterra grain terminal in the port city of Mykolaiv was hit by a missile and set on fire in June). And as last season’s harvest struggles to get out of Ukraine, it is left with little space to store the new harvest, set to begin soon.

Ukraine accounted for nearly a fifth of global corn exports and 12-14% of wheat exports, and the absence of those stocks on markets is expected to cause shortages in many parts of the world. In just one example, the rise in feed and food prices in Malaysia prompted it to ban exports of chickens to neighbouring Singapore and Thailand in early June, although the ban was partially relaxed a few weeks later.

For the first time in the century since the ASF virus was identified, a commercial vaccine will be available. areas. It is believed that the project may lead to a reduction of 30% in Dutch livestock numbers. Nitrogen emissions have been a hot topic in Dutch politics since at least 2019, and the level of responsibility of the animal agriculture sector in particular is contentious. NEW ZEALAND RELEASES DRAFT PLAN TO CHARGE FOR LIVESTOCK METHANE EMISSIONS On June 8, New Zealand’s government released a plan requiring farmers to pay for the enteric methane emissions of their animals by 2025. If enacted, it would make the country the first in the world to put a price on the greenhouse gas generated directly by ruminants. It is understood to include incentives for reducing emissions via feed additives. Reuters reports that a final decision on the project is expected in December.

GAS SITUATION IN EUROPE CONCERNING

As the relationship between Russia and Europe degrades, many are concerned about the potential for Russia to provoke a deep energy crisis by withholding gas supplies from its western neighbours. It cut off Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland for refusing to pay for gas in rubles, and in late June, it reduced deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, ostensibly over equipment issues. One week later, the situation of German gas reserves and deliveries was worrying enough for the country to move to the “alarm level”, under which the global manufacturing giant can begin using coal instead of gas and subsidising consumption cuts.

DUTCH GOVERNMENT PROPOSES NITROGEN POLLUTION CONTROL MEASURES

Farmers pushed back against a plan released in June by the Dutch government to reduce nitrogen pollution in sensitive natural US PASSES OCEAN CARRIER REFORM BILL; REGULATIONS OF CHICKEN TOURNAMENT FARMING LOOM

In mid-June, President Biden signed the bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act to increase the oversight power of the Federal Maritime Commission. Among many others, it includes provisions meant to stop international ocean carriers from “unreasonably declining American cargo”, to require reporting on how many containers are being transported empty, provisions which are particularly interesting for US ag exporters concerned about their products having been passed over in favour of rapidly returning empty containers to Asia when containers were particularly scarce and US ports were overwhelmed. Meanwhile, the balance of power between meatpackers and farmers remains a focus of the administration; in late-May, it proposed regulatory changes meant to ensure greater transparency in the “tournament system” used to reimburse farmers who raise chickens under contract with integrators.