“Trade protectionism is on the rise, we are seeing harmful trade restrictions, especially in goods and service. The world is not going towards a free trade environment. We are entering an era of ‘slowbalization,’ due to the global financial crisis,” said Brian Earnest, lead animal protein analyst with CoBank, during his “Domestic and Global Poultry Market Outlook for the Poultry & Egg Industry” presentation. He spoke at the Poultry Market Intelligence Forum, sponsored by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and held at the 2024 International Production & Processing Expo.

Dr. David Swayne, consultant at Birdflu Veterinarian LLC, gave a presentation on the “Domestic and Global Outlook of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza for 2024” where he noted that avian influenza is not a single disease. There have been 45 events based on distinct virus genetic lineages, of which 41 have been eliminated and four are ongoing. The H5N1 2344 clade has shown evidence of entrenchment for four years in some wild birds, and it has an ecological change that varies from asymptomatic infection to mass die-offs. Swayne also mentioned that the practice of biosecurity, movement control and stamping out infected poultry are some important next steps in fighting the virus.

“What is the outlook for this year? Ugly and unpredictable; we are in choppy waters,” said Christian Richter, principal with The Policy Group, as he opened his “2024 Washington Outlook” update.

“Not a lot of legislation has been done, and both parties have responsibilities to have the legislation done. Congress is also running behind on the Farm Bill, and it has been extended for one year. There is concern on both sides of the aisle,” said Richter. 

He also noted that the economic news for the U.S. is very positive. Stock markets are high as well as consumer expectation.

Sources: IPPE; AFIA; NAMI; USPOULTRY