In order to improve the sector's production management and guarantee safe pork trade, the Guatemalan government is moving forward with the implementation of the Official Pork Traceability Program.
The program, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (Maga), consists of placing radiofrequency button-type and flag-type devices for breeding animals.
The protocol allowing Guatemalan companies to sell live cattle in the neighboring country will come into effect on December 15, 2019.
After the negotiation process between Mexican and Guatemalan authorities has concluded and the sanitary regulations for the entry of animals have been approved, the Central American country has the green light to start selling live cattle.
Starting from November 24 of this year, new guidelines will be in effect governing requirements and conditions for transporting pigs in the country.
Directive SENASA-DG-D001-2017, published on August 24, officialized the new "Official Guide for Transporting Porcine Cattle," which will constitute the new regulations for transporting pigs from 24 November.
Central American countries face the challenge of improving their production techniques in order to increase quality and take advantage of the opportunity that exists in the European market.
Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that"...According to the most recent European statistics of 2015, the consumption of organic products in the European Union (EU) was 28.3 billion euros in that year. 70% of this expenditure came from four countries: Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. However, those adding the most of these types of products into their shopping baskets are the Danish (8.4% of their purchases), Austrians (8%) and Swedes (7.7%), according to data from the same year.
In order to take advantage of the potential of the Nicaraguan livestock industry, it is essential that traceability systems be improved, a prerequisite for entering demanding markets such as Europe.
The growth in exports of meat and meat products from Nicaragua could be even greater if product monitoring and control systems were properly implemented throughout the production chain.The European market is one of the most demanding in this regard, and is one of the most profitable once the necessary traceability systems are implemented.
The requirements for sanitation and traceability are preventing the livestock sector from taking advantage of quotas for meat exports duty free to Europe.
Although the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union established a quota of 4,800 tonnes per year of rice and a quota of 1,533 tonnes per year of meat, which could enter Europe without incurring tariffs, neither sector has been able to take advantage of them completely.
Senasa has started the process of registration and updating information on subsistence, small, medium and large pig farms in the country.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture:
As part of the implementation of the Control System for Mobilization and Traceability of pigs from the beginning of this year 2017, the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) at the Ministry of Agriculture, is carrying out, in regional offices, registration and updating of information of existing pig farms in the country (subsistence / backyard, small, medium and large) in the Integrated Registration System for Agricultural Establishments (SIREA by its initials in Spanish), with registration of establishments composing the first stage established in the implementation of the traceability system for the pig sector.
The government is preparing a registration system that requires pork producers to mark their pigs in order to combat smuggling through the use of phytosanitary and traceability controls.
The aim is to have the agreement in late January, which would start with 88 producers enrolled in the Association of Pork Producers of Guatemala (APOGUA), in order to have an animal traceability system, prevent the illegal entry of pigs and prevent arrival of illnesses from Mexico.
In the difficult route to increase the sector's sales abroad, the country has so far managed to register 58% of the cattle herd.
The advanced comes after five years of efforts between the authorities and trade associations to have included in their records 22% of cattle farms in the country and 58% of cattle organizations, but industry representatives believe that there is still much to be done to meet the traceability requirements that are impeding the entry of Nicaraguan meat products into some markets, including the European Union (EU).
It has been reported that to date 14,303 animals have been traced and identified and 97 establishments have been registered in the National Traceability and Livestock Registry System.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock:
With the decisive support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG by its initials in Spanish) through the National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA) the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA), and the National Federation of Farmers and Ranchers in Honduras (FENAGH), this nation has joined the rest of the countries in Central America.
The fall in international prices has forced employers of specialty coffee to take steps to improve their competitiveness by resorting to full control of product traceability.
The fall in international prices in the coffee market is the main mitigating factor with which the industry is doing battle in Panama and Central America in general in order to remain profitable.
It will regulate the practices to be implemented in the product cycle from plant origin to the final destination and vice versa along the entire chain.
From a statement issued by the National Assembly of Panama:
The State is responsible for ensuring the safety of plant foods which are produced and consumed in the country, as established by Bill No.299, which created the Best Practices and Agricultural Traceability Program (BPTA by its initials in Spanish) approved in a third debate today by the full legislature.
The Ministry of Agricultural Development has finally presented the expected bill that will make the implementation of livestock systems and agricultural traceability mandatory.
From a statement issued by the National Assembly of Panama:
Agricultural Development Minister, Jorge Arango Arias, presented on Monday, two bills before the plenary of the National Assembly.
In Nicaragua the slow pace of implementation of the system is preventing the livestock sector from make the most of the beef export quota established by the Agreement with the EU.
The 2083 tonnes of beef which the livestock sector in Nicaragua could sell to the European market is not being fully leveraged due to the fact that they do not have the required minimum records demanded by European law to allow the importation of products.
Lack of cattle traceability is preventing the food industry from comply with the amendments to the rules on labeling of meat products.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Chamber of the Food Industry:
We are opposed to the excessive and unjustified requirements on meat labeling.
The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) initiated a series of actions to enable consumers to know the conditions under which meats are handled and processed, which led to reforms to the technical regulation on labeling of meat.