Commodity prices are beginning to rise modestly, and markets in Asia, Canada, and Mexico are likely to become stronger. Keith Collins, chief economist of the U.S. Agriculture Dept., says a strengthening world economy gets most of the credit for the improving outlook for U.S. agriculture. There is some modest improvement in crop prices,'' he says. The U.S. is shipping more pork and beef to Asia and a little more chicken to Russia, he notes. The question in 2001 is how much improvement we will see,'' McMillin says.
Analysts also see a trend toward more consolidation in the industry.
Other such deals are likely to follow. We're going to see a fairly significant pickup in Asia, and in North America we're seeing relatively good markets in Canada and Mexico,'' he says. In fact, food-safety issues may play an important role in the industry this year. Food safety issues have an impact on ''the regulations on genetically modified organisms, on antibiotics, and on the traceability of products,'' says Christine L. McCracken of Midwest Research in Cleveland. An increasing number of cases of bacterial contamination of food products could also hurt the industry.