It was probably the best Rl global conference yet. No less than 200 sen
ior executives from every sector in the industry and from just about
every continent were there. Naples, that's in Florida, proved a perfect
venue for a very timely industry gathering. FMD added a sense of
urgency to the proceedings. What's NewS sat in for you.
Regaining trust
Some good news
Buying factors
8 What'sNewS
Issue 3 May/June 2001
With the Foot and Mouth Disease
(FMD) epidemie at its height in the
UK, problems in Argentina and growing
concerns on containment in both the
Netherlands and France, the food safety
issue and consumer perceptions of the in
dustry as a whole were ohvious points for
debate. Yet, the conference had been an-
nounced as long ago as August 2000, well
before the latest crisis in Europe. lts aint
was to create a platform for frank discus
sion on industry dynamics, both national
and international, as global consolidation
trends take hold.
Opening the conference for Rabobank In
ternational, Wouter Kolff noted many al-
ready considered the current food safety
situation a crisis in the industry. 'In recent
weeks,' he told the conference, 'discussion
on food safety and traceabilitv have
reached fever pitch.' His comments were
fuelled by the findings of FAR's dedicated
study on the animal protein industry,
published just before the conference. 'In
many ways,' Kolff commented, 'consumer
trust is at the core of the food safety is-
sue's impact on the global meat value
chain. From an industry perspective, re
gaining and maintaining that trust nteans
managing additional business risk, chang-
ing supply chain
relationships and
investment in ad
ditional manage
ment information
tools.'
That was the bad
news. On the
other hand, chal-
lenges facing the industry today also open
up opportunities. But is the industry itself
adjusting fast enough to tackle the
changes which are still redefining the busi
ness landscape? Meat protein is moving
away from its historical position as a com-
modity. Widespread, rapid adoption of
agro-industrialization technology has
raised the bar on creating value. In addi-
tion, what is considered 'added value'
shifts as consumer behaviours change. At
the same time, demand for meat protein is
still increasing globally, primarily as a re-
sult of population growth, especially in
emerging markets.
The FAR study concludes that the com-
bined impact of demographics and in-
creased income will result in developing
regions contributing the greater part of
consumption increases. 'In mature mar
kets, higher value means convenience,'
Kolff told the conference. 'In emerging
markets, consistent qual-
ity and frequent supply
are key to adoption of
meat protein from an in-
dustrialized production
systent. But common to
both markets is the
tremendous power of the
retailer when it comes to
price.' Although the nu-
tritional value of meat
protein continues to play
a key role, consumers are making addi
tional demands on the whole industry sup
ply chain - all for a price they consider af-
fordable. Key consumer factors are:
- health aspects;
- food safety assurances;
- animal welfare issues; and
