Tariffs affect US pig exports

Mexico has been using a since the beginning of June import duty on American pork. The figures from the USMEF (the American agency for meat exports) show this has an impact on the export volume to Mexico. Compared to the same month in 2017, sales in June decreased by 7% to 59.967 tons. The underlying asset declined 16% to $105,1 million.

Still in sight of record
The decrease can be seen as a break in the trend, because more was exported in the preceding months. On balance, exports increased by 4% in the first half to 413.231 tons, compared to the same period in 2017. The USMEF emphasizes that every effort is being made to consolidate sales to Mexico. Despite the rates, the agency is hopeful that the record sales of 2017 will be surpassed this year.

The USMEF notes that other exporters smell sales opportunities in Mexico, where the US has traditionally been the main supplier of pork. Therefore, the hope is that the tariffs will be lifted soon.

Significant decline in China
According to the USMEF, the entrance fee also sales to China and Hong Kong. In June, volume declined 37% to 28.569 tons, compared to 2017. Value fell 19% to $70 million. Although the decrease is significant, volumes were already declining in the first 6 months of 2018 (-21% to 216.008 tonnes). European exporters are also making losses in China. Brazil, on the other hand, exports considerably more, even though the rich Brazilian volumes nowhere near the volumes that the US and the European Union realize.

The US can partly offset the losses in Mexico and China/Hong Kong with additional sales in Japan and South Korea. It is true that the export is not always interchangeable, because the sale of parts differs per country. All in all, total sales fell by 4,5% to over 191.000 tons.