One of the overall conclusions at this year’s World Meat Congress was that meat will be needed more as the world’s population grows. The biannual event, which was held in Uruguay over three days, was attended by 700 of the world’s leading meat experts. Topics such as the future of the meat industry, trade policies, health and welfare, sustainability and consumer perceptions of meat production were all discussed over the two days.

Some of the highlights and top quotes from the conference are on this page. The conference followed a positive theme, with many forecasters predicting a bright future for meat production. However, an underlying theme was the power of social media in forming future generation’s opinions on food production and consumption. One in five people in the US are now posting images of what they eat and this poses a lot of opportunities and challenges for the sector.

Indeed, many at the conference felt that the industry wasn’t doing enough to educate the consumer on the high standards of traceability and animal welfare in typical meat production systems.

Richard Brown, director of the global food agency GIRA told the conference: “We need to be able to be ever-ready to respond to shock challenges such as animal disease or health scares. We need to have meat chains that communicate and work together and ensure that producers are not in constant war with meat processors.”

China to import 10 million tonnes of meat by 2020

China’s demand for meat is set to grow higher than expected in the coming years. This was one of the key messages from the first day of the congress. Most of this growth will come from pork demand, while beef and poultry imports are likely to stay at a steady rate. China currently imports about 4 million tonnes of meat annually.

There were fears that with the Chinese economy slowing down to single-digit growth, so too would the demand for meat imports. However, recent projections from the Chinese authorities have allayed these fears, with plans in place to increase imports.

One of the reasons for this is problems with their internal plans for intensifying agriculture. Richard Brown said that if the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest economy, can continue to maintain its current economic growth coupled with problems in domestic production, this could mean that pork meat price rises could come quicker than expected.

Ireland exported 50,000t of porkmeat (30% of exports) up to August this year, while the Irish beef export market has been slow to materialise.

Brazilian Issues stall growth

While Brazil remains a superpower in beef production, continued lack of government investment has meant a decline in the rate of progress that should be taking place. In recent years, the Brazilian government deficit has increased and this, coupled with high interest rates, has reduced investment. While Brazilian meat production is expected to grow, so is domestic consumption, leaving the surplus available for export reducing from 2 million tonnes in 2014 to a projected 1.5 million tonnes in 2020.

Ireland held up as world leader

A number of speakers at the conference made reference to Bord Bia’s carbon navigator and how the area of carbon footprint was becoming increasingly important in terms of information required for the consumer.

Indeed, many at the conference believed the Irish model was the correct model for the industry to follow and that Ireland had shown the industry foresight and leadership in this area.

Jim O’Toole of Bord Bia gave an excellent presentation on the Irish system and how Bord Bia has worked with both farmers and industry in developing quality assurance schemes and market access.

The series

This report is the first in a three-week series of reports exploring the beef industry in Uruguay and Argentina

Week 1: World Meat Congress Report-Uruguay and Camera at Liniers Market, Buenos Aires

Week 2: Uruguayan meat industry and farm case studies. We profile a feedlot feeding wood chips as a source of fibre and a farm exporting weanlings to Turkey from Uruguay.

Week 3: Argentinian feedlots and farm profiles. We profile 15,000 acre farm, a 2,200-cow operation and a 20,000-head feedlot.