Encouraging World Trade & Chinese Chickens

Encouraging World Trade & Chinese Chickens plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Recent language added to the FY2010 Ag Appropriations Budget could allow imports of Chinese poultry in the US, and more opportunities for US exports to China as well. USDA Under Secretary Jim Miller explains how recent language in the FY2010 Ag Appropriations bill will resolve issues surrounding Chinese poultry imports to the US, and open resolution of similar ag trade issues. 

MILLER: We believe the language that we’re hopeful the appropriators will ultimately approve will open the door so that we can get beyond this issue and I believe that does provide an opportunity again to have much more substantive discussions on opening the Chinese market to a wide range of U.S. agricultural products. So the work that is going on in Congress is extremely important and we’re looking forward to a resolution.

During a public forum of the World Trade Organization, Director-General Pascal Lamy confirmed that the G20 leaders at their Pittsburgh Summit agreed that - their negotiators now embark on the work programs that have been established for the next three months. The goal is final agreement by 2010. Lamy also talked about the - rough patch – the world economy has gone through during 2008 and early 2009. He said - the contraction in demand led to a slowdown in production, and in international trade.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

There’s a new “kid” in town and he’s turning out to be very unpopular indeed, and with good reason. The newcomer is actually a newly discovered type of pest attacking fruit crops up and down the west coast. Its technical name is long and rather a tongue twister so I’ll refer to it with its more common name, vinegar fly. This tiny sized critter has decided to take up residence in orchards around the Northwest, California, and Hawaii, and up into Canada. Determined to be originally from Japan this little vinegar fly could turn out to be the worst pest to invade U.S. fruit crops in decades. Unlike most flies that chow down on rotting fruit, the vinegar fly focuses on ripening fruit, causing extensive damage to fruit just before it’s to be harvested. So far the USDA has decided not to initiate quarantine action against this pest because of its widespread infestation; translation: to do so would be rather like closing the barn doors after the horse has gotten out. But one has to wonder if the barn has to completely burn down before they put out this fire.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.