USMEF Chairman at World Pork Expo: Producers Looking for Bright Spots in Tough Business Climate...
USMEF Chairman at World Pork Expo: Producers Looking for Bright Spots in Tough Business Climate
An estimated 18,000 pork producers from around the world are gathered at the World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines this week, and USMEF Chairman Jon Caspers is among them. The operator of a nursery-to-finish operation in Swaledale, Iowa, that markets 13,000 hogs annually, Caspers offered his observations from the pork industry’s premier event.
While export markets have remained an area of strength for the U.S. pork industry, Caspers says the mood among producers is understandably somber as the industry struggles with rising production costs and a very sluggish hog market.
“Most of the producers are certainly disappointed in the marketplace,” he said. “It’s been a long dry spell, and we’ve been in a loss situation for quite a long period of time now.”
Caspers noted that recently even the global marketplace has presented an unusually high level of volatility for U.S. pork.
“Export markets have been a real positive – one of the few bright spots for the pork industry. We had a phenomenal year in 2008 and actually in the first three months of this year exports have certainly exceeded expectations,” he said. “But more recently we’ve run into this problem with H1N1 Influenza, and that’s certainly put a damper on the hog market. Most producers thought we would be looking at significantly better prices than we have today, and I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet. It looks like we still have some backup in product to work through – at least that’s what the market appears to be telling us.”
While interruptions in pork trade with Russia and China continue to frustrate the industry, Caspers says the situation calls for a calm but very persistent approach by USMEF and U.S. trade officials.
“If we continue to engage with the Russians on a scientific level, we can make some incremental improvements and get better access to that market. But we’ve got some longstanding issues there with plant delistings and other barriers that we also need to make some progress on,” he said. “China is maybe a little bit different story. Some of their history with SARS and avian flu has made them kind of gun-shy, and so I think we need to share our scientific information and try to make it clear that pork trade does not pose a risk to them.”
Caspers said that while strong exports have helped U.S. pork producers avoid significant cutbacks in production, economic pressures on the industry are intensifying.
“Up until now, the United States has fared a lot better than other pork producing countries in that regard,” he said. “But, unfortunately, we’re in a whole new world now, especially in terms of costs of production.”
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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.
USMEF Chairman at World Pork Expo: Producers Looking for Bright Spots in Tough Business Climate
An estimated 18,000 pork producers from around the world are gathered at the World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines this week, and USMEF Chairman Jon Caspers is among them. The operator of a nursery-to-finish operation in Swaledale, Iowa, that markets 13,000 hogs annually, Caspers offered his observations from the pork industry’s premier event.
While export markets have remained an area of strength for the U.S. pork industry, Caspers says the mood among producers is understandably somber as the industry struggles with rising production costs and a very sluggish hog market.
“Most of the producers are certainly disappointed in the marketplace,” he said. “It’s been a long dry spell, and we’ve been in a loss situation for quite a long period of time now.”
Caspers noted that recently even the global marketplace has presented an unusually high level of volatility for U.S. pork.
“Export markets have been a real positive – one of the few bright spots for the pork industry. We had a phenomenal year in 2008 and actually in the first three months of this year exports have certainly exceeded expectations,” he said. “But more recently we’ve run into this problem with H1N1 Influenza, and that’s certainly put a damper on the hog market. Most producers thought we would be looking at significantly better prices than we have today, and I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet. It looks like we still have some backup in product to work through – at least that’s what the market appears to be telling us.”
While interruptions in pork trade with Russia and China continue to frustrate the industry, Caspers says the situation calls for a calm but very persistent approach by USMEF and U.S. trade officials.
“If we continue to engage with the Russians on a scientific level, we can make some incremental improvements and get better access to that market. But we’ve got some longstanding issues there with plant delistings and other barriers that we also need to make some progress on,” he said. “China is maybe a little bit different story. Some of their history with SARS and avian flu has made them kind of gun-shy, and so I think we need to share our scientific information and try to make it clear that pork trade does not pose a risk to them.”
Caspers said that while strong exports have helped U.S. pork producers avoid significant cutbacks in production, economic pressures on the industry are intensifying.
“Up until now, the United States has fared a lot better than other pork producing countries in that regard,” he said. “But, unfortunately, we’re in a whole new world now, especially in terms of costs of production.”
# # #
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.