The U.S. exported more than 296,000 metric tons of pork to China between January and March
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
U.S. pork producers enjoyed a record first quarter in terms of exports to the world’s largest pork consumer.
First-quarter (January to March) pork exports to China/Hong Kong totalled 296,525 metric tons (mt). That figure represents a 231 per cent increase in volume compared to the first quarter of 2019, data from the U.S. Meat Export Federation says.
That volume of pork totalled US$724.5 million, a 321 per cent jump from the same time in 2019, the industry organization said.
In total, U.S. pork accounts for about 18 per cent of China’s imports. The European Union, at 61 per cent, remains the country’s primary supplier.
Pork prices for the first quarter reflected the increased Chinese demand.
“The better demand from exports did help prices,” said Abhinesh Gopal, head of commodity research with Farms.com Risk Management. “Prices do look to have bottomed.”
In the middle of January, pork prices were around 88 cents per pound. Prices declined for the next three months, reaching a low of 49 cents/lb. on April 6.
As of Tuesday morning, July futures have pork prices around 57 cents/lb.
Increased processing capabilities and sustained relationships between the U.S. and China could help prices improve further, Gopal said.
“Opening up the packing plants with safety restrictions, and getting some of that packing capacity online, is surely a step in the right direction,” he said. “There is still some backup of hogs and that will continue for some time.
“But we would need the pork demand to stay strong. Then there is the China factor. They do need the pork, but will geopolitics and trade cause issues there?”
While the numbers are impressive, they still fall short of figures from before African swine fever affected China's hog population, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) says.
The first quarter export figures are "nowhere near what they could be relative to China's huge ASF-related need for affordable sources of pork," the organization told Farms.com in an emailed statement.
The U.S. can supply China with the pork it needs to meet demands, but Chinese officials need to make it easier for American pork to enter the market, the NPPC said.
"We are ideally positioned to address this unprecedented sales opportunity for pork in China, but we continue to urge the country to remove its tariffs on U.S. pork," the organization said.
China charges the U.S. a 33 percent tariff compared to 8 percent for other countries.
"Pork is a litmus test for the phase one deal with China," NPPC said. "If China is unwilling to drop its tariffs on U.S. pork, it's difficult to envision the country meeting the US$40 billion per year agriculture purchase."