Packers refuse lower bids

US hide suppliers who may have hoped that APLF in Hong Kong would generate better business returned home sadder and wiser. Buyers seemed to be waiting for lower prices and meat packers turned away bids that did not come up to scratch. It was also reported that Taiwanese and Korean tanners did not put in much of an appearance at the show. The USDA said that Taiwan bought 100 tons of US beef during the week ended March 31, the first purchase since a case BSE was discovered in America in December 2003. The US is continuing to put pressure on the Japanese government to resume imports of American beef but there are still no indications of when the ban may be lifted. Few expect the lifting of the embargo before June at the earliest. Canada, Mexico and the US have agreed on a single standard for North America whereby specified risk materials should be removed from all imported cattle at the time of slaughter. Also no cattle from herds which have had any incidence of BSE may be exported. This is a positive step towards the reopening of the border between Canada and the US for live cattle, but again, as we go to press, no decision has yet been made . More than one packer in the west of the USA plans to kill on only three days a week or operate a 32-hour minimum week. Packers' average loss on slaughtered cattle is claimed to have risen from $17.54 to $21.72 per head. Smithfield Foods plan to build a new beef plant on the Southern Plains. Smithfield are already the fifth largest slaughterer and the new plant will have a capacity of 2,500 head/day per shift, with a second shift planned for a later date. Federally inspected slaughter for the four weeks ended April 9 amounted to an average 577,500. This compares with 592,000 for the same period a year earlier. When it comes to raw hide exports, China once again took first place with 767,100 and Korea was again second with 437,400. Taiwan came in third with 191,300, followed by Hong Kong with 114,500, Japan 52,900, Thailand 47,500 and Italy 22,100. Vietnam purchased 19,200, Indonesia 7,900, Canada 5,500 with the Domenican Republic and Canada both purchasing 4,300 in the week ending April 8. The UK took 2,700 and Germany 1,400. In addition, Italy also took 51,600 calf and kip, Peru bought 28,700 calfskins, Hong Kong 19,400 kips, Portugal was responsible for 15,700 calf and kip and Japan 13,400. The Netherlands brought up the rear with 2,600 kips. Italy contracted for the greatest number of wet-blues with 194,600. Then came the Domenican Republic with 151,600, Hong Kong with 80,900, Taiwan 50,800, Mexico 31,400 and China in sixth place with 37,100. Korea weighed in with 3,600, Thailand with 3,300, France 2,100, Indonesia 1,800 and Portugal 1,400. Wet-blue splits went mainly to Hong Kong with 3,239,700lb, Italy 1,503,900lb and China 1,102,200. Korea took a healthy 750,000lb with the Netherlands taking 57,100lb and Mexico 46,000lb.