Beef industry analyst, John Mott, assessed the volatile situation stating that the "the mad cow crisis has already crippled the European beef trade, and U.S. and other international beef industries need to be prepared for its dramatically growing impact on their own operations." Regarding FMD, he forecasted that "the changing FMD trade status of South America beef exporters, has both favorably and unfavorably affected the international beef market with overnight changes in sources of supplies and additional price competition in North American markets."

Both the changing European BSE crisis and South American FMD trade status require proactive corporate responses to maintain a leading edge in this very competitive environment. In order to compete effectively, meat producers, distributors and retail marketing companies must be able to forecast how BSE and FMD changes will impact their businesses and then take concrete measures to both protect their ongoing markets and take advantage of rapidly changing market opportunities. The two GIC joint studies will provide the tools to forecast market changes and to adopt specific marketing strategies.

GIC will offer this BSE commercial impact study to individual companies at a price of $9,500. GIC will also offer a supplemental FMD study, mainly about how changes in the South and North American beef industries will impact corporate decision makers; this report is priced at $3,500.  The full outline of the study can be seen at http://www.gicgroup.com/english/studies/study_bse.html .