Under the new rules, which are a requirement of the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 (Act), meat packers will have to submit information on each sale, including the price, quantity, item description and destination. This information will be used by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to produce market reports that can be disseminated to the public, with the hope of improving information for the industry and the consumer.
Craig Morris, the deputy administrator of the AMS Livestock and Seed Program, said: “Implementing the mandatory wholesale pork reporting program provides market participants with considerably more market information than they have had in the past.
“Further, a mandatory wholesale pork reporting program will ensure that accurate, unbiased market information is available to all market participants, ultimately benefiting consumers through improved price discovery in the sector.”
The Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010, which was agreed by Congress, added wholesale pork cuts to the commodities already required to be reported by larger packers – including cattle, sheep, boxed beef, boxed lamb and imported lamb meat. The USDA said the new rules were developed through negotiations with stakeholders, including pork producers, packers, processors, retailers and buyers.
Notice of the final rule will be published in the 22 August 2012 Federal Register, with details available on the USDA website.