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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
U.S. pork exports to China are still very strong, but trade is expected to decline as the Chinese rebuild the country’s swine herd after the devastation of African swine fever. That means that U.S. exporters are going to have to rely more on other markets in coming years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused adjustments in countless aspects of our daily lives in the United States, but it has also hindered one of the most successful promotion efforts for American meat in foreign grocery stores: free samples.
U.S. pork exports continue to break records, buoyed by unprecedented demand from China, where African swine fever decimated production, but American producers are preparing to adapt as the country quickly rebuilds its herd.
COVID-related shutdowns and slowdowns at meatpacking plants pushed beef exports for May below last year’s levels and pork exports to their lowest level since October, according to data collected by the United States Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
As the spread of COVID-19 in April slowed meat processing facilities and important Latin American trading partners lost purchasing power, U.S. beef exports fell below last year's totals and pork exports grew at a slower rate than in the first quarter.
The U.S. exported record amounts of pork and posted very strong numbers for beef sales around the globe in March, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new USDA data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
USDA reports released Thursday show China has purchased another 1,400 metric tons of U.S. beef and 272,000 tons of U.S. soybeans, demonstrating importers are successfully getting exemptions to the country’s tariffs.
Expectations for U.S. beef exports to China this year are being tempered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but shipments have already begun and they’re expected to continue strong despite the spread of the virus.