Weekly USMEF Audio Report: USMEF Chairman Impressed with China’s Pork Industry, but Sees Many Challenges Ahead...

Sept. 8, 2009 - USMEF Chairman Jon Caspers traveled to the World Pork Conference in Qingdao, China, last week, making a presentation regarding the U.S. pork industry. In an interview from the conference, Caspers – a pork producer from Swaledale, Iowa – says that while he is very impressed with the progress China’s pork industry has made in recent years, he questions that nation’s ability to become self-sufficient in pork production. While China is by far the world’s largest producer of pork, he feels there are several factors that will continue to make China an attractive export market for the United States and other pork-producing nations.

Caspers, along with two fellow USMEF officers and CEO Philip Seng, traveled from China to South Korea to receive a briefing on demand for U.S. beef in that key export market. They will conclude their time in Asia with a stop in Tokyo to assess the impact of the recent Japanese elections.

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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.

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