Commodity prices show no sign of relenting
The commodity prices in India show no signs of relenting. The demand of corn is up as the placement of poultry is up. As demand of processed food, paper and pharmaceuticals is also on the rise, the demand from the starch sector is also going up, putting pressure on prices.
The prices on Friday, Dec 16, 2005 for some of the varieties were as under:
Deshi Red, Rs.6130 ($138) per MT; Gajjar, Rs.5440 ($122) per MT; Hybrid Yellow, Rs.6320 $142) per MT; Kesari, Rs.6050 ($136) per MT. The above prices are at the market yard will need to add another 12-16% on top to cover cost of packing, transport etc. Last year same time the average price was Rs.5500 ($ 124) per MT. This year the prices are higher by 8%.
Barley requirement too has shown an uptrend, with large breweries coming to India. By a conservative estimate the requirement of the malt sector is about 250,000 – 300,000 tons per year. The current prices at market yard are ranging from Rs.8620 – Rs.8960 ($194 - $201) per MT. Last year same time the average price was Rs.6770 ($ 152) per MT. This year the price is about 29% higher tan last year. The industry also believes that the production of barley was much lower than 1.4 MMT as estimated by Government of India, which has pushed the prices much higher. With still three and a half months to go before the new crop comes in, it will be the survival of the fittest for the malting sector as the prices will tend to go up.
Most of the end users for barley and corn are of the opinion that prices this year started on a higher note and are likely to remain higher in coming months.
Commodity prices in US moves little higher. Corn for March delivery closes at $2.07 per bushel ($81.47 per MT) a tad higher than Dec 09 close of $80.28 per MT. For May delivery corn closed at $85.01 per MT a little higher than Dec 09 close of $83.72 per MT.
Properly cooked poultry meat does not pose a threat of AI infection
Reports from WHO and other organizations indicate Avian Influenza though is effecting more of poultry birds in Asia, it won't be a worldwide threat until the virus is able to spread easily from person to person. It is not a monster as it is made to be.
In order that a pandemic starts, three things must happen:
* Development of a new strain/sub starin of virus
* Its spread to humans and causing serious illness, and
* Its easy spread in humans
The current strain of the virus currently effecting Asia and parts of Europe has made the first two steps, but has not shown to move to the third step as per the experts. It has so far infected about 130 people and in the last 2 years some 70 people have dies due to the infection.
At present there is no pandemic like situation anywhere in the world and the virus does not spread easily between people. Almost all of the human cases have involved people who had direct contact with infected birds and may have had a low immune response.
In order to ally any fears amongst the consumers about avian influenza, FAO and WHO have said that it is safe to eat chicken and other poultry products when they are properly cooked.
As per the report, there is no risk that consumers will be exposed to the virus via the handling or consumption of poultry or poultry products within any areas where there is no avian influenza outbreak in poultry.
Cooking of poultry (e.g., chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea-fowl) at or above 70°Celsius throughout the product, so that absolutely no meat remains raw and red, is a safe measure. To date there is no epidemiological evidence that people have become infected even after eating contaminated poultry meat that has been properly cooked.
Reports available confirm that human cases of avian influenza acquired their infection during the home slaughtering and subsequent handling of diseased or dead birds prior to cooking. FAO and WHO emphasize that in the process of killing and preparing a live bird for food, slaughtering poses the greatest risk of passing the virus from infected or diseased birds to humans.
Most strains of avian influenza virus are mainly found in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of infected birds--and not in the meat. However, highly pathogenic viruses, such as the H5N1 strain, spread to virtually all parts of an infected bird, including meat. Proper cooking at temperatures at or above 70°C in all parts of the product inactivates the virus.
When a diseased bird is slaughtered, defeathered and eviscerated, virus from the bird can transfer to humans through direct contact. Infected poultry excrete virus in their secretions and feces. Exposure might also occur when the virus is inhaled through dust and possibly through contact with surfaces contaminated with the virus.
In areas where marketing of live birds is common, the practices of home slaughtering, defeathering, and eviscerating increase the exposure to potentially contaminated parts of a chicken. These practices, therefore, result in a significant risk of infection in areas with outbreaks in poultry.
Recommended good hygienic practices to reduce exposure to the virus in areas with outbreaks in poultry include:
* No birds from flocks with disease should enter the food chain.
* Do not eat raw poultry parts, including raw blood, or raw eggs in or from areas with outbreaks in poultry.
* Separate raw meat from cooked or ready-to-eat foods to avoid contamination.
* Do not use the same chopping board or the same knife.
* Do not handle both raw and cooked foods without washing your hands in between, and do not place cooked meat back on the same plate or surface it was on prior to cooking.
* Do not use raw or soft-boiled eggs in food preparations that will not be heat treated or cooked.
* Keep clean and wash your hands. After handling frozen or thawed raw poultry or eggs, wash your hands thoroughly with soap. Wash and disinfect all surfaces and utensils that have been in contact with the raw meat.
* Cook thoroughly: Thorough cooking of poultry meat will inactivate the virus. Either ensure that the poultry meat reaches 70°C at the center of the product ("piping" hot) or that the meat is not pink in any part. Egg yolks should not be runny or liquid.
Will it help to register poultry flocks and farms?
In order to safeguard the interest of farmers and the consumers and also maintain the growth of the industry, will it help if the poultry farms and flocks are registered? The question has been asked many times in India and possibly the answer every time has been, it may not be possible to do it when the farmers are small and un-organized.
United Kingdom has started a campaign and plans to register all flocks, which will help in gathering the information about birds on commercial premises to get a better picture of size, type and proximity of flocks. In UK, even those keeping 50 birds on commercial scale will need to register their flocks by February 2006.
In India, a plan was mooted in 1996 and the registration of parent farms and hatcheries was started, but was a non starter. In order to get a correct picture of the production capabilities, it will be a good idea to start the registration of integrated operations, wherein the parent company provides the information about their contract growers along with the capacity and location. The individual farmers can be asked to register their farms and flocks in the second phase. The registration would do three things:
1. Provide a correct picture on the placements
2. Will be easy to project raw material requirements
3. Could help in managing any potential disease threat
If you have any comments on this topic, please feel free to send the same to me
Amit Sachdev
Representative
U S Grains Council, India
bluecross303@gmail.com
December 17, 2005
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment