Trump policy hits US pig market hard

No other agricultural sector in the United States has been hit as hard by Donald Trump's trade wars as pig farming. While the European pig price rose to record highs, the American variant fell to the bottom.

After the European Union, America is the world's largest exporter of pork and China the most important buyer. Trump was going to battle with China. As a result, in mid-2019, carcass prices of almost 2 euros per kilo were recorded in the EU. At the same time, less than 1 euro per kilo was paid in the United States, according to figures from the European Union.

Throughout Trump's tenure, American pork was worth significantly less than European Union pork, except for a few moments such as the turn of the year from 2017 to 2018. Now, in late October, pork prices worldwide are moving for the first time during Trump's tenure. to each other. This is because China is buying much less pork from the European Union in Germany because of the African swine fever. 

Historical contraction
Even more exceptional than the long-standing rock-bottom prices of American pork are the developments in the country's pig population. For the first time in living memory, the U.S. pig population has stopped growing year on year. At the 40 largest pig farms in the United States, the number of sows fell this year by 61.000 to 4,18 million, according to a survey by 'Succesful Farming'.

The largest pig company in the United States, the globally operating Smithfields, reduced the number of sows by 15.000. This brings the number of sows at the company in America, taken over by the Chinese WH group, to 915.000. At the second largest pig farm in the country, Seaboard Foods, the number of sows fell by 5.000 head to 340.000.

The 5 largest Canadian pig farms, on the other hand, continued to grow last year. After the European Union and the United States, Canada is the world's largest exporter of pork. The price level here has been considerably higher on average than in the United States in recent years. 

Attributing the historic decline of the American pig population entirely to the trade war that Trump has unleashed is not justified. The corona pandemic also has a big finger in the pie here. Due to the outbreak, American slaughterhouses were even forced to close this spring.

Pigs and Vilsack in Iowa
Livestock farmers do not judge Trump en masse for the consequences of the trade war on the price of pigs, according to the polls. Trump still has a lot of support among ranchers, just like 4 years ago. And the votes of ranchers in the Midwest could be the deciding factor. Precisely in the state with the largest pig population in America, Iowa, presidential candidate Joe Biden has a strong asset. Iowa is home to former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack.

In the American trade media, Vilsack emphasizes the consequences of the trade war unleashed by Trump. If Biden comes to power, global trade relations will return to normal, the governor said. Many ranchers are anticipating that Biden will also tighten environmental regulations. It is also a widely held view that the trade war that Trump has unleashed will benefit the livestock industry in the long term. The United States has shown thanks to Trump who is boss on the world stage, or so the reasoning.

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