Page 18 - Australian Pork Newspaper

China swine fever outbreak to curb its soybean imports
CHINA’S imports of soybeans are set to drop as an outbreak of African swine fever hits its huge pig herd and saps demand for the animal feed ingre- dient.
African swine fever, deadly to pigs but not harmful to people, has spread rapidly through China, with more than 70 cases reported across farms since early Au- gust.
That and already large soy inventories are curbing appetite for beans in what is by far the world’s biggest im- porter of the commod- ity, meaning buyers are unlikely to need to re- turn to importing US crops anytime soon.
A Beijing-based exec- utive at an international trading company said, “Had it not been for the swine fever, China would have faced a shortage of beans early next year.”
“Now it seems soy- bean processors will be able to do without US beans.”
Washington and Bei- jing have been locked in a trade war, with soy- beans one of the com- modities at the heart of the conflict.
After imposing re- taliatory tariffs on US soybean imports, China has been taking mainly Brazilian beans, threat- ening to leave a bumper US harvest piled up in storage or rotting in fields.
But as overall Chinese demand for soybeans slows, Brazilian price premiums are also suf- fering, plunging to 85
cents a bushel over the January Chicago con- tract from an October peak of $2.75.
A Singapore-based trader at an internation- al company that owns oilseed processing facil- ities in China said China has not been taking US beans for months and now demand for Brazil- ian soybeans has also dropped significantly.
Large domestic inven- tories are also playing a big part in the faltering appetite for soy.
China’s soybean stocks are at 7.45 mil- lion tonnes, the highest for this time of the year in a decade.
A manager at a crush- ing plant in Liaoning province in the north- east, one of China’s key areas for feed and pig production, said the whole northeastern re- gion has enough soy- beans as there are lots of domestic supplies and crushers there have stored Brazilian soy- beans.
December drop
China’s December soybean imports are expected to drop 37 percent to 6 million tonnes from 9.574 mil- lion tonnes a year ago, two of the trade sources estimated.
China brought in 6.92 million tonnes of soy- beans in October, with 94 percent of that vol- ume coming from Bra- zil.
Another trader, based in Beijing and who de- clined to be identified, estimated Chinese soy- bean arrivals in the first quarter of 2019 at 11-12 million tonnes, which
would be down from 19.6 million tonnes at the same time this year.
China-America Com- modity Data Analytics analyst Yao Guiling said, “Farmers will be less willing to replen- ish their herds with the African swine fever outbreaks spreading in China.”
“Soymeal consump- tion next year will be affected as a result.”
However, not all in- dustry sources said the disease would have an immediate impact on demand for soy because restrictions on trans- porting livestock are making it more diffi- cult for farmers in some areas to truck pigs to slaughterhouses.
Meanwhile, focus in global soybean markets was turned to the recent G20 summit in Argenti- na, with people looking for any signs the trade war could end or even escalate.
AgriBrasil CEO Fred- erico Humberg said, “It is a fact that demand for Brazilian beans has slowed in the past 30 days but I would say this is much more due to ex- pectations regarding the G20 meeting.”
Farmers in the South American agricultural powerhouse have boost- ed planting this year, eyeing Chinese demand.
Brazilian soybean farmers in the key state of Mato Grosso may start harvesting the crop before the end of De- cember, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said, as the pace of sow- ing has been the fastest inhistory.
Photo: cornandsoybeandigest.com
Aussie Pumps’ Scud 351 high-pressure blaster clearance means pork producers can save hundreds of dollars buying direct from the manufacturer.
Piggeries save as blasters clear
FOR a limited time, pork producers can buy top- quality Aussie Pump blasters at clearance prices direct from the manufacturer.
The huge sale, billed as the Aussie Pumps ‘Gals Gotta Go’ program, is a result of the company changing from galvanised steel frames to new stain- less steel models.
The blasters in the clear- ance must be sold by year end as the company is al- ready in high gear with the production of the new stainless steel range.
Prices for the clearance models start from $1498 plus GST.
Aussie Pumps manu- factures a unique range of high-pressure water blasters ideal for piggery wash-down.
Called the Aussie Scud series, the engine-drive
machines deliver a com- bination of flow and pres- sure that facilitates fast, efficient cleaning.
Typical of this range is the Scud 351.
Aussie Pumps product manager Mal Patel said the Aussie Scud 351 has been hugely successful in cleaning piggeries both in Australia and Indonesia.
“However, we’re now re- placing this model with a new stainless steel ver- sion,” he said.
“That means we’re clearing galvanised-frame blasters with savings of up to 20 percent.
“Piggeries can buy these units direct from us or through their local dis- tributor at the same price.
“This is a huge oppor- tunity to get the best and safest blasters at a great low price.”
The clearance includes
models with Honda GX390 petrol engines with either recoil or electric start.
A diesel-drive version using a Yanmar L100 10hp electric-start engine is also part of the clear- ance program.
The heart of the ma- chine is a ‘Big Berty’ Ber- tolini triplex pump that delivers 21l/pm flow.
The slow-speed, gear- box-drive pump has a pressure capability of 2600psi, which is ideal for wash-down applications.
Piggeries need the high flow and pressure to wash and flush!
The machine comes in a unique Aussie Scud hot galvanised one-piece steel frame with four big 13” pneumatic-tyred wheels.
The Scud design, a unique Australian devel- opment, provides a com- bination of OH&S-friend-
ly features with ergonom- ics not found on any other machines.
“Users are surprised at the Scud’s agility, even with the diesel-drive ver- sion that weighs in at around 100kg,” Patel said.
“Moving this machine around is child’s play.”
Indonesia’s biggest pig- gery uses a fleet of these Australian-designed and built machines to main- tain a clean and hygienic environment.
The piggery ships 1000 pigs to Singapore every night and operates an Aussie blaster fleet of 14 diesel-powered Scuds.
This special offer is available from Aussie Pumps and authorised distributors through Aus- tralia and the South Pa- cific.
www.aussiepumps.com. au
Reader’s comment
I HAVE just received my levy notice for the coming year and I’m wondering why no one has lobbied to request any form of staggered payment scheme, con- sidering the harsh pro- duction environment in which we in the pork industry have all been (and continue to be)
existing in?
What is the function of
our local/state/national industry bodies if not to look after the very producers upon whom they rely?
Where are the peo- ple who are supposedly looking after us?
Even our council was able to give us some
leeway to pay the rates. Why can’t the Queens- land Government afford us the same simple
courtesy?
More to the point, why
is our industry not deal- ing with this?
I look forward to an answer.
Madeleine Steinhardt Murgon,Queensland
Page 18 – Australian Pork Newspaper, December 2018
www.porknews.com.au