By-product insights

According to Colombia's Republic newspaper, Paula Andrea Cepeda, manager of the Agricultural Research Institute (ICA), which is responsible for certification, monitoring, and control of the livestock supply chain, stated that 65% of Colombia's 5,500 poultry farms have obtained biosecurity certification, which greatly enhances product competitiveness. "We are currently negotiating poultry meat trade matters with markets including China, Malaysia, South Korea, Egypt, the United States, Lebanon, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Chile; simultaneously, we are also negotiating egg trade matters with markets such as Aruba, Japan, Curaçao, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Guyana, El Salvador, the United States, Uruguay, and Japan," Cepeda said. In recent decades, Colombia's poultry industry has developed rapidly, with current annual production of chicken meat and eggs reaching 3 million tons. According to the National Poultry Farmers Association (Fenavi), Colombia is the world's tenth-largest poultry producer and the third-largest in Latin America. Colombia's poultry industry not only meets domestic demand but also has the capacity to export over 350,000 tons of chicken meat and 1 billion eggs. "Last year, we produced 1.9 million tons of chicken meat, compared to just 700,000 tons 20 years ago; egg production also reached 18 billion eggs, up from 6 billion 20 years ago," recalled Gonzalo Moreno, the association's president. "In 2005, we established a regulatory framework for safe poultry farms, which enabled us to achieve world-class hygiene standards." Moreno noted that Colombia currently faces a significant opportunity: Canada, the United States, and Mexico are affected by avian flu, while Colombia maintains a disease-free status. Colombia has been striving to sell chicken meat and eggs to the US market but has not yet met sanitary entry conditions. Francisco Ross, director of the National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute (Invima), responsible for final export product certification, stated: "Entering the US market is a long, cautious, and meticulous process. We have been working with agricultural and health regulatory agencies for years to certify all meat products." Additionally, Colombia is seeking to enter the Chinese market.

Muan County (County Chief Kim San) visited the site on the 10th to listen to the difficulties of livestock farmers and discuss practical support measures in response to the ongoing heat wave causing chicken deaths and other damages to livestock farms. On this day, County Chief Kim San visited beef cattle and broiler chicken farms, checking the installation status of ventilation fans and cooling facilities, and directly examined the livestock management methods to minimize heat wave damage and farmers' suggestions. To proactively respond to the heat wave, Muan County has supported 454 livestock shed ventilation fans with its own budget of 90 million won and has allocated a budget of 1.3 billion won to ▲supply heat stress relief agents ▲support livestock disaster insurance premiums

[Korea Farmers' Newspaper, Reporter Lee Woo-jung] The Nonghyup Central Union's Gangwon Branch inspected drought damage sites in the Yeongdong region, including Sokcho, on the 10th and urged each county branch to thoroughly prevent safety risks for farmers and crop damage due to prolonged heat wave. According to Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, a total of 6,502 animals, including 5,650 chickens and 852 pigs, have died from May 15 to July 9. Moreover, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration's forecast, heat waves around 35°C are expected to continue until mid-July, raising concerns about farmer safety issues and expanded drought damage. In response, Gangwon Nonghyup has been operating a bank since late May for the safety of farmers and customers.