U.S., China Agree to Pork Export Terms
U.S., China Agree to Pork Export Terms
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have announced an agreement with the government of China for resumption of U.S. pork exports. USMEF will provide more details on the specific terms of the agreement as soon as they become available.
The announcements by USTR and USDA are available online.
While all indications suggest trade will resume fairly quickly, no updates are expected to the FSIS Export Library until Monday, March 22, at the earliest.
China has been closed to U.S. pork since mid-2009. At that time, a number of foreign markets closed to pork from the United States and several other exporting countries due to concerns about A-H1N1 influenza. As facts emerged showing that A-H1N1 could not be contracted by consuming pork, nearly all of these markets resumed trade with the U.S. – with China being the only major exception.
“We appreciate the dedication shown by Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Kirk to reopening the China pork market,” said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. “Under the agreement announced today, U.S. pork will return to China under the same terms as our competitors in Europe and Canada. I also want to thank the pork industry for its patience and support as we have worked to put the A-H1N1 issue behind us. USMEF looks forward not only to resuming pork trade with China, but also putting to rest any lingering notion that A-H1N1 is connected in any way to pork consumption.”
Seng added that although China has been able to build up plentiful supplies of domestic pork while the market has been closed to imports, these conditions can change very quickly.
“Some analysts may look at China’s domestic supply situation and downplay the significance of the timing of this agreement to the U.S. pork industry,” he said. “But it’s important to keep in mind that China has a history of dramatic shifts in its pork production and its need for imported product. That’s why it is critical to be well-positioned in this market whenever circumstances change and new opportunities emerge.”
U.S. pork/pork variety meat exports to China peaked in 2008, totaling 165,812 metric tons (366 million pounds) valued at more than $334 million. U.S. exports declined more than 60 percent last year. This was due in large part to the market closure, but domestic supply also played a major role as China’s imports from all pork suppliers fell by 42 percent. Even in this down year, however, China was the world’s fifth-largest pork importer by volume.
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.
U.S., China Agree to Pork Export Terms
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have announced an agreement with the government of China for resumption of U.S. pork exports. USMEF will provide more details on the specific terms of the agreement as soon as they become available.
The announcements by USTR and USDA are available online.
While all indications suggest trade will resume fairly quickly, no updates are expected to the FSIS Export Library until Monday, March 22, at the earliest.
China has been closed to U.S. pork since mid-2009. At that time, a number of foreign markets closed to pork from the United States and several other exporting countries due to concerns about A-H1N1 influenza. As facts emerged showing that A-H1N1 could not be contracted by consuming pork, nearly all of these markets resumed trade with the U.S. – with China being the only major exception.
“We appreciate the dedication shown by Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Kirk to reopening the China pork market,” said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. “Under the agreement announced today, U.S. pork will return to China under the same terms as our competitors in Europe and Canada. I also want to thank the pork industry for its patience and support as we have worked to put the A-H1N1 issue behind us. USMEF looks forward not only to resuming pork trade with China, but also putting to rest any lingering notion that A-H1N1 is connected in any way to pork consumption.”
Seng added that although China has been able to build up plentiful supplies of domestic pork while the market has been closed to imports, these conditions can change very quickly.
“Some analysts may look at China’s domestic supply situation and downplay the significance of the timing of this agreement to the U.S. pork industry,” he said. “But it’s important to keep in mind that China has a history of dramatic shifts in its pork production and its need for imported product. That’s why it is critical to be well-positioned in this market whenever circumstances change and new opportunities emerge.”
U.S. pork/pork variety meat exports to China peaked in 2008, totaling 165,812 metric tons (366 million pounds) valued at more than $334 million. U.S. exports declined more than 60 percent last year. This was due in large part to the market closure, but domestic supply also played a major role as China’s imports from all pork suppliers fell by 42 percent. Even in this down year, however, China was the world’s fifth-largest pork importer by volume.
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.
USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.