Inside Pigs
China cancels large volume of pork from US
The trade war between the United States and China is hurting American pig exports. After talks between the two countries have broken down again, Chinese buyers have canceled large volumes of American pork.
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Figures from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that China canceled 3.247 tons of pork in early May. That is the largest cancellation in more than 1 year. The reason for this is the difficult trade relationship between China and the United States; Both superpowers have been talking about a trade deal for some time, but so far without success.
Major losses in China
China has been imposing an import tax on American pork for almost a year now. The American Meat Export Agency (USMEF) announces that an import tax of 1% now applies, compared to 62% previously. As a result, imports of pork and by-products from the United States shrank by 12% to 2019 tonnes in the first quarter of 20.
The underlying value even fell by 34% to $172 million. Although China is importing significantly more pork this year, the American pork sector cannot benefit from this. On the other hand, the fact that the American pig sector is encountering Chinese tariffs offers opportunities for European pig exports.
De expectation is that China will import more pork this year due to the outbreaks of African swine fever. Videos have appeared on Twitter in recent weeks showing that the meat shelves in Chinese supermarkets are empty.
Competition in Mexico
Exports are also slow in other sales markets. Sales from the United States to Mexico, the largest sales market, fell by 13% to 177.000 tons. The underlying value plummeted 29% to $261,9 million tonnes. In Mexico, the United States is suffering from increasing competition from Canada and the European Union, while Mexican production has increased.
Japan also imported almost 2019% less pork in the first quarter of 10 (92.503 tons), which is the result of the free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union, from which European pork greatly benefits.
Canada Compensates
In addition to major losses in important sales markets, American pork exports could make gains in Canada and some South American countries. As a result, the total decline in the first quarter (-6% to 600.000 tons) is somewhat less than expected. The underlying export value fell by 14% to $1,45 billion.