(Repeats to fix headline)
BEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) - An earthquake that killed at least 29,000 people in China also badly hurt livestock and crops in Sichuan province, and disinfection teams are spreading out to prevent more damage, officials said on Saturday.
The earthquake killed about 792,000 of Sichuan's estimated 60 million pigs, Li Jinxiang, head of the veterinary department at the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters.
However, the number of breeding sows nationwide is up on last year, which could help stave off inflation, he told Reuters.
Rescue work is still going on for thousands buried in rubble after the May 12 quake, but with bodies in mass graves and water supplies disrupted, efforts now also include disinfection campaigns to prevent disease spreading among animals and people.
Poultry made up most of the 12.5 million birds and livestock killed by Monday's quake.
The quake has damaged infrastructure just ahead of the hot, humid summer, the peak season for diseases such as swine flu or blue ear pig disease, which decimated the hog population in 2007.
"Preventing disease is one of our largest responsibilities," Li said at a news conference in Beijing.
Li told Reuters the breeding sow population was now about 20 percent more nationwide than it was this time last year, when disease and poor profits discouraged breeding, helping to feed inflation which is now running at a nearly 12-year high.
The quake badly damaged fish farms and about 15 percent of vegetable production in the afflicted areas near the epicentre, the officials said. As many as 50,000 greenhouses were damaged.
Sichuan accounts for nearly 15 percent of China's rapeseed production, nearly 7 percent of summer grains and 5 percent of vegetables.
Although a national surplus of fertiliser should be able to make up for fertiliser plants damaged in industrial towns such as Shifang, damage to irrigation infrastructure would be harder to overcome, the officials said. Sichuan is releasing water from reservoirs to reduce pressure on weakened dams.
"Some rice paddies may have to be turned into dry fields this summer," said Wei Chaoan, vice minister of agriculture.
"Maybe, as this develops, many other problems will appear, including some we don't know about yet." (Reporting by Lucy Hornby; editing by Philippa Fletcher) ((lucy.hornby@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 6627-1269; Reuters Messaging: lucy.hornby.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: QUAKE AGRICULTURE
BEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) - An earthquake that killed at least 29,000 people in China also badly hurt livestock and crops in Sichuan province, and disinfection teams are spreading out to prevent more damage, officials said on Saturday.
The earthquake killed about 792,000 of Sichuan's estimated 60 million pigs, Li Jinxiang, head of the veterinary department at the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters.
However, the number of breeding sows nationwide is up on last year, which could help stave off inflation, he told Reuters.
Rescue work is still going on for thousands buried in rubble after the May 12 quake, but with bodies in mass graves and water supplies disrupted, efforts now also include disinfection campaigns to prevent disease spreading among animals and people.
Poultry made up most of the 12.5 million birds and livestock killed by Monday's quake.
The quake has damaged infrastructure just ahead of the hot, humid summer, the peak season for diseases such as swine flu or blue ear pig disease, which decimated the hog population in 2007.
"Preventing disease is one of our largest responsibilities," Li said at a news conference in Beijing.
Li told Reuters the breeding sow population was now about 20 percent more nationwide than it was this time last year, when disease and poor profits discouraged breeding, helping to feed inflation which is now running at a nearly 12-year high.
The quake badly damaged fish farms and about 15 percent of vegetable production in the afflicted areas near the epicentre, the officials said. As many as 50,000 greenhouses were damaged.
Sichuan accounts for nearly 15 percent of China's rapeseed production, nearly 7 percent of summer grains and 5 percent of vegetables.
Although a national surplus of fertiliser should be able to make up for fertiliser plants damaged in industrial towns such as Shifang, damage to irrigation infrastructure would be harder to overcome, the officials said. Sichuan is releasing water from reservoirs to reduce pressure on weakened dams.
"Some rice paddies may have to be turned into dry fields this summer," said Wei Chaoan, vice minister of agriculture.
"Maybe, as this develops, many other problems will appear, including some we don't know about yet." (Reporting by Lucy Hornby; editing by Philippa Fletcher) ((lucy.hornby@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 6627-1269; Reuters Messaging: lucy.hornby.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: QUAKE AGRICULTURE
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CHICAGO, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures closed higher in Chicago and Kansas City on Friday on light short covering after a seesaw session, traders said.
Wheat futures were seen as oversold and due for a bounce following a two-month slide, but the approaching harvest of a record large world wheat crop continued to hang over the market, pushing prices lower at times.
A weaker dollar, a rally in soybean futures tied to the extension of an Argentine farmer strike, and strength in crude oil lent support.
* At the Chicago Board of Trade, July soft red winter wheat <WN8> settled 4 cents higher at $7.75-1/2 per bushel, with back months up 2-1/2 to 4 cents.
* Funds were net even in CBOT wheat for the day.
* At the Kansas City Board of Trade, July hard red winter wheat futures <KWN8> closed up 2-3/4 cents at $8.24-1/4 per bushel, with back months up 2 to 5 cents.
* At the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, July spring wheat <MWN8> fell 3 cents to close at $10.04 per bushel, with new-crop September <MWU8> down 8 cents at $8.64.
* Volume was light in Chicago estimated at 33,300 futures and 6,574 options. In Minneapolis an estimated 5,099 futures traded. Estimated Kansas City trade was 10,643 futures.
* MGE futures weighed by soft cash markets for spring wheat amid sluggish demand from flour mills.
* Pakistan issued two separate tenders to import a total of 250,000 tonnes of wheat to boost stocks. [ID:nSIN260093]
* Ukraine has offered the first parcels of milling and feed wheat of the 2008 harvest, a top analyst said. [ID:nL16579072]
* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is ready to cancel grain and sunflower oil export restrictions, if the government fails to abolish them, a local newspaper said. [ID:nL16677208]
(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen) ((julie.ingwersen@thomsonreuters.com; +1 312-408-8720; Reuters Messaging: julie.ingwersen.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS WHEAT/CBOT
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CHICAGO, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade hit a two-month top on Friday, boosted by a farmer strike in Argentina that will continue into next week and further stall shipments from one of the world's top soy exporters, traders said.
* Signs of fresh export interest in U.S. soybeans reinforced ideas of a slowdown in Argentine soy sales due to the farmer protest over the soy export tax.
* A rally in New York crude oil to record top near $128 per barrel was also supportive, with speculative buying in soyoil spilling over to soybeans.
* July soybeans <SN8> ended 30-1/2 cents higher at $13.78 per bushel, after climbing to a top of $14.02.
* July soyoil <BON8> closed 1.82 cent per lb at 61.85 cents; July soymeal <SMN8> settled $5 up at $350.
* Volume was moderate in soybeans and light in the products. In soybeans, an estimated 104,276 futures and 78,447 options traded. Soymeal trade was pegged at 38,446 futures and 720 options. Estimated soyoil volume was 45,469 futures and 1,500 options.
* Commodity funds bought 3,000 soybean contracts, 1,000 soymeal and 2,000 soyoil, traders said.
* China bought about seven cargoes of U.S. soybeans this week, a combination of old- and new-crop supplies, traders said.
* USDA confirmed the sale of 253,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans for 2008/09 delivery. That follows USDA's confirmation on Thursday of China buying 126,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans, a combination of old and new crop.
* A break in the rains this week in the western Midwest soybeans, said DTN Meteorlogix. The eastern belt is wetter, thus slowing planting. [ID:nN16404682]
* Traders expected USDA to report on Monday U.S. soybean planting progress at 20 to 30 percent, versus the seasonal average near 54 percent.
* U.S. Midwest basis bids for soybeans were weaker at interior points and firmer along the river, with country sales quiet, dealers said.
For a detailed market report click on [GRA/].
(Reporting by Christine Stebbins) ((christine.stebbins@thomsonreuters.com; +1 312 408 8720; Reuters Messaging:christine.stebbins.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS SOYBEANS CBOT
By Missy Ryan
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - As global trade talks inch closer to a make-or-break moment, support from the influential U.S. agriculture sector may hinge on highly technical rules for protecting their goods from tariff cuts.
Cutting tariffs is a priority in the World Trade Organization's Doha round, but a proposal on the table would allow developed countries to shelter between 4 and 6 percent initially of their tariff lines as "sensitive" products.
Sugar, dairy, and possibly meat may wind up on the United States' list of protected sensitive products, although trade officials are mum for now about which of the roughly 700 agricultural tariff lines at stake they will seek to include.
The issue emerges as pivotal in the round, which began in 2001, as negotiators try to hash out tariff rules and reach a breakthrough in coming months.
If the impasse persists much longer, even Doha's biggest supporters believe a new world trade deal will be delayed for years by political turnover in the United States and Europe.
Shawna Morris, a trade expert at the National Milk Producers Federation, said the sensitive product exceptions are part of a careful calculus that will determine if the U.S. dairy industry will support a newly brokered trade deal.
"At the end of the day, we'll be looking at the net gain" in exports abroad compared to increased competition at home, Morris said, along with reforms in government supports. The stance is echoed across U.S. agribusiness.
Products designated as sensitive receive smaller tariff cuts than other goods, but countries are required to compensate by expanding quotas for imports at a lower tariff.
On the flip side, U.S. industries will track how much such exemptions -- and similar exemptions for developing countries, called "special" products -- will reduce the new sales potential they are hoping for in foreign markets.
IMPACT ON US TARIFFS
According to a recent study by top agricultural economists, sensitive product protections would have a relatively small impact on overall reductions in U.S . tariffs.
The paper, by David Blandford of Penn State University, Will Martin of the World Bank, and David Laborde of the International Food Policy Research Institute, examined the most recent WTO draft for agriculture, released in February.
It concluded that products likely to be named sensitive by the United States, which are among the most highly protected now, would in a new trade deal get a smaller, but still comfortable, tariff cushion.
The study found that sugar tariffs would drop by 22 percentage points -- a big change, but still less than the 30 percentage points it would fall without sensitive status.
One source in the U.S. sugar industry said new Doha imports might amount to as much as 500,000 tonnes a year. "Our interests really are in trying to keep the domestic market operating," he said.
The paper also finds that the United States also stands to gain significant market access, even with other countries' sensitive and special product exemption.
Without special and sensitive product exception, average applied tariffs facing U.S. farm exports would go from 15.7 percent before a deal to 9.6 percent. With those exceptions, the tariffs would settle at 12.5 percent.
"Major market opportunities will be created in meat, oilseeds, cereals" and other goods, the authors wrote, but some of the proposed access would be neutralized by exceptions, especially for goods like cereals, oilseeds and dairy.
U.S. dairy producers expect some other major markets, like Japan, Canada,and South Korea may protect dairy products.
MEANINGFUL ACCESS?
Gregg Doug, an economist with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, expects some kind of improvement in access to important markets like the European Union, even if meat shows up on the sensitive products list there.
"But will it be meaningful? Don't know yet," he said.
Crawford Falconer, who chairs the Doha agriculture talks, may provide additional details on special and sensitive product rules when he releases a revised negotiating draft next week.
When approaching the Doha round, Blandford, one of the study's authors, said that U.S. industries shouldn't fear an onslaught of new imports, or markets closed by developing country exemptions. "It is a pretty good deal," he said.
Not everyone in Washington shares that view.
Such exceptions, in addition to the possibility that trade partners will use health or safety concerns to block U.S. exports, "dampen the optimism over the Doha round as a market opening mechanism," said Gary Blumenthal, an agriculture expert at World Perspectives consultancy.
((For a factbox on sensitive products, users of 3000 Xtra can click on [nL0797723]))
((For more on world trade talks, users of 3000 Xtra can click on [ID:nL01774870])) (Editing by David Gregorio) ((Reuters Messaging: missy.ryan.reuters.com@reuters.net; + 202-898-8376)) Keywords: USA TRADE/DOHA
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