Govt, Private Sector Put Key Farm Products into Clusters

THAILAND - The Agriculture Ministry has identified 16 flagship products and grouped them into clusters with a view to further penetration of the regional market and cashing in on the upcoming Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said a meeting of the joint government-private sector subcommittee had held an in-depth discussion regarding agricultural products with high potential for further marketing within Asean, according to The Nation of Thailand.

The meeting was attended by representatives from associations covering 16 agricultural sectors: rice, sugar cane, tapioca, maize, pineapple, sweet corn, longan, oil palm, rubber trees, pigs, beef cattle, dairy cattle, chicken meat, layer hens, sea shrimp and tuna.

The aim of the discussion was to gather ideas from the private sector and to prepare the agricultural sector for the further opening up of Asean when the AEC comes into effect in 2015.

The private sector called for government’s support and cooperation in developing the strength of local agricultural businesses, so that they are more competitive and can maintain their leadership position in Asean. 

Such cooperation should be extended to other member countries within Asean, in the areas of production, trading and investment, the representatives said.

Theera said that based on the discussion, seven clusters had been created and goals identified, as follows:

1. Rice, tapioca, sweet corn and tuna - sectors in which Thailand is a leading trading nation and should be the leader in the AEC single market.

The rice sector requires cooperation between the government and the private sector in developing a wider variety of native species, while jasmine rice species should have more value and uniqueness. 

The government should import raw tapioca and tapioca chips from neighbouring countries for more processing and adding value to the Kingdom's production.

The government should promote increased local consumption and look for new potential markets for exporting sweet corn, while for tuna it should promote investment in processing facilities in neighbouring countries. 

2. Rubber, sugar cane, pineapple, oil palm, dairy cattle and sea shrimp - products for which Thailand is a leading country for manufacturing, exporting and a potential trading centre in the AEC. The government should have a policy to import concentrated liquid rubber from neighbouring countries for use in mid-stream industry for rubber production in Thailand. It should also urge all other Asean nations to become members of the International Rubber Consortium by having a management and administration centre in Thailand in order to provide a platform for discussion and negotiation on rubber and related issues and ensure maximum marketing efficiency.

Thailand should pioneer the formation of an Asean Palm Oil Federation and encourage all Asean member states to become members, reports The Nation.

3. Layer hens and pigs - these are sectors in which Thailand produces for local consumption.

4. Chicken meat - a sector in which Thailand should maintain its position as a trading country.

5. Longan - a sector in which the Kingdom should maintain its position as leading manufacturing and trading country. 

6. Maize - where Thailand should maintain its position as a net importer. The private sector, however, suggested that local production should be promoted to replace imports, besides which Thai investors should |be encouraged to have production facilities in neighbouring countries and bring the output back to Thailand for further processing. 

7. Beef cattle - where Thailand will step forward as the production base in the region. The government should create a five-year plan.

ThePoultrySite News Desk

Dioxins Discovered in More German Eggs

GERMANY - Dioxin–contaminated eggs from an organic farm in Lower Saxony have now been discovered in nine states. Investigations are on-going into the source of the dioxin and any possible link to recent similar cases.

Eggs from an organic layer farm in Walchum in the region of Emsland in Lower Saxony have now been found in nine German states – Rhineland–Palatinate, Baden–Wurttemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony–Anhalt, the Saarland and most recently,Schleswig–Holstein.

A total of 268,000 eggs from the farm, which is closed, are thought to be involved, according to a report from Norddeutscher Rundfunk (North German Radio; NDR).

Sales of the eggs were stopped immediately, despite assurance from the local ministry that they posed no immediate health risk. The business was closed last week and the distribution of eggs was halted. Eggs with the producer code ‘DE-0-0356091’ and an expiry date of 14 June or later should not be consumed but should be destroyed or returned to the trader. The contaminated eggs in Schleswig–Holstein were marked with the same producer code and the expiry date of 10 July.

The farmer at the centre of the case, Andreas Hartelt, has been unable to identify the source of the dioxin and the local authority has started investigation. According to Lower Saxony’s Ministry for Consumer Protection, the level found in the eggs is around four times the maximum safe level. Routine testing revealed a dioxin level of 19.5 picograms per gram of egg fat. The legal limit is five picograms.

Mr Hartelt said this is the first time he has experienced this situation and he has made no changes for years and his poultry houses are a long way from any obvious sources of pollution.

With the maximum permissible dioxin limits exceeded by about four times, Mr Hartelt said his eggs have been confiscated and are unlikely to come onto the market. If the elevated levels are confirmed, the hens cannot be marketed either, which will result in “enormous losses” to the farmer. He is awaiting confirmation of the test results on the eggs and investigations on the soil and feed on the farm.

The Ministry has said there is no obvious connection between this case and three other farms in the district of Aurich or another organic farm in the district of Oldenburg.

Despite the latest findings in Lower Saxony, a spokesperson from the Department of Agriculture stressed that the stronger testing measures – introduced that after the dioxin scandal in animal feed at the beginning of 2011 – are working. If an issue arises from routine controls, the farmer and authorities are informed immediately, preventing any cover–up or delay.

Original Article Here

What 20,000 hens a hectare looks like

HOW many hens a hectare is an acceptable amount to be classified as free range? Two videos have appeared on YouTube recently offering 360 degree views of a paddock stocked at a ratio of 20,000 hens a hectare.

The videos, which also appear on the Australian Egg Corporation website, pan around to capture footage of a half-hectare paddock and shed where 10,000 hens are kept.

Th e videos come as the industry debates acceptable limits on the amount of hens a hectare acceptable to be classed as free range.

Calls have been made for density ratios as low as 750 hens a hectare.