In the months following the reopening of the Japanese market to imports of U.S. beef on July 26, 2006, Japanese importers were unable to procure adequate supplies. This paper discusses reasons for early supply shortages and some of the policy and trade issues that will affect demand for U.S....

New Zealand has used country-of-origin labeling (COOL) as a "country brand" to differentiate New Zealand lamb in international markets and increase consumer awareness of this lamb as a high-quality imported product. The case of New Zealand lamb is especially interesting as an unsubsidized...

The structure of the pork production, slaughter, and processing sectors in Mexico has changed significantly since implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and with rising income and increased urbanization. Today, Mexico's pork industry has become more integrated and...

The projected expansion in U.S. corn-based ethanol production over the next several years has created concern that large surpluses of distillers grains may result. Most of the distillers grains currently being produced are consumed by the domestic livestock and poultry industries, especially the...

Trade in livestock and livestock products between the U.S. and Canada has become controversial in recent years. This paper focuses of some of the factors that have given rise to this change in trade patterns between the two countries. Hayes and Clemens describe meat and live animal trade in both...

Japanese consumers are sophisticated, highly conscious of food quality and safety, and willing to pay for attributes they believe define a high-quality, safe product. A recent series of domestic and international food safety crises have elevated the importance of meat safety among Japanese...

Declining grain prices, cyclical livestock prices, changing consumer preferences, and intense international competition for agricultural commodity markets have created a need for alternative production and marketing strategies. Iowa producers striving to break away from commodity production and...

Italy's relatively small area, high population density, and high land and labor costs have created the challenges of ensuring profitably for agricultural producers, slowing urban encroachment onto arable land, and keeping farm families on land that has been handed down within the families for...

Worldwide, a segment of consumers can afford to pay substantial price premiums for very high quality agricultural products with attributes those consumers value. At the same time, many U.S. farmers are producing these high-quality products but are not using market mechanisms that allow them to...

It has become obvious to many observers that China will need to import feed grains or livestock products to achieve consumer diets similar to those of the developed world. The first part of this report discusses the supply and demand situation for the Chinese pork market through 2007. The second...