Business
New Caledonia's Unusual Export
There's a future in semen export
Semen may seem an unusual export product. But New Caledonia's bovine sector is confident there's a future in it.
UPRA Bovine, the New Caledonian unit for the selection and advancement of bovine breeds, exports semen from New Caledonian sires bred from the world-renowned French Charolais and Limousin breeds. Although there are nine breeds of cattle in the country, the unit mainly works with these two.
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UPRA Bovine imports semen and embryos from France to help local breeders improve their livestock. With these French techniques and genetics, New Caledonia has created a good reputation for its own particular bovine genetics. "We now have a very high standard of females and import semen from the best bulls in France. Our mating programme allows us to choose the most suitable sire for the cow depending on what results are required," says Christophe Verkimpe, UPRA Bovine Manager.
New Caledonia's relatively high costs mean it cannot compete with beef exporters, but semen export is economically viable. The semen is from top breeds and its collection and export is a procedure that uses advanced technology and technical know-how, which justifies the expense.
UPRA Bovine already exports semen to regional clients, mainly in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Vanuatu. New Zealand and Australia prefer to import product from New Caledonia because it has similar sanitary conditions and poses less problems than importing from Europe, where the sanitary situation is not as good. It's also cheaper to import from New Caledonia. Semen produced in New Caledonia costs 1000 CFP (US$7) a straw compared to 6000 CFP (US$44) from France.
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The unit is also ready to start exporting embryos and aims to target the Asia and Pacific markets. However, the cost, around 40,000 CFP (US$295) a straw, and the lack of technical know-how for embryo transfer may pose difficulties for Pacific islands countries. The advantage of buying embryos is that a producer doesn't need to have a significant stock, says Verkimpe. "Starting from scratch it is an expensive undertaking. But for a potential client who wants to start breeding from animals with a good genetic background, it's a good investment even if it's more expensive to begin with."
New Caledonia's many advantages in the field include its exceptional sanitary status (it is classed free from serious cattle diseases by the Epizootic International Office), the reputed French origins of its breeding programme, and its developed technology and know-how which enables it to carry out such an activity.
The country hasn't imported live cattle for 30 years and consequently, has been able to guarantee its sanitary status. Scientists have not detected Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in embryos, semen or reproductive tissues of BSE-infected cows, which also makes these products safer to import than live animals.
