Opportunities in feed scandal
A proposal to eliminate meat and bone meal from animal feeds in the European Union could eventually have significant impact on Canadian canola and pulse crop production.
In the wake of the scandal caused by dioxin getting into animal feed in Belgium, top European farm officials and France’s agriculture minister are calling for an end to the practice of including animal meal in feed rations.
If Europe removes animal protein from feed rations, it will have to find protein elsewhere and that source will be oilseeds and pulse crops.
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Reuters news agency reports the French oilseeds association estimates that to fill the gap, the area devoted to European Union oilseed and vegetable protein production would have to increase by almost a third, or five million acres.
The crops would include soy, sunseed and rapeseed, as well as field peas and alfalfa.
The oilseeds association said such an increase would not be possible without assistance, notably subsidies from the European Union budget.
In the absence of such measures, it would be necessary to import an additional 2.75 million tonnes of soymeal, mostly from the United States and Brazil, raising the total to 27.5 million tonnes annually.
France’s oilseeds association said the EU consumes about 47 million tonnes of material rich in protein for animal feed each year, of which five percent comes from meat and bone meal. But the EU only produces about 21.6 million tonnes of oilseed and vegetable protein.
In the end, there will probably be a combination of increased European production and increased imports.
There are a couple of implications for Canada.
On the good side is the prospect of larger European demand for Canadian feed peas.
While the oilseeds association talked about increased imports of soymeal, the Europeans’ concerns about genetically altered plants might make them reluctant buyers of American soybeans, a large percentage of which are herbicide and insect tolerant thanks to genetic manipulation.
Canada’s pulse industry has been cautious about approving genetically altered varieties for this very reason.
A possible negative result for Canadian farmers from all this would be an increase in canola acres in Europe.
If Europeans subsidize growing more canola for meal, it will produce a surplus of oil that must be sold, adding to the supply of vegetable oils worldwide.
Canadian negotiators in coming world trade talks must lobby to ensure Europe does not solve its feed safety concerns by establishing a new crop of farm subsidies.
