Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 7/19/18


Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt paints a bleak picture for the U.S. pork industry in the coming months as broader trade issues with major export markets are resulting in retaliation against U.S. pork exports.

In an article titled “Too Much Pork, Tariffs Mean Too Few Buyers” in the farmdocDAILYnewsletter, Hurt outlines prospects for large pork supplies pushing prices down as low as $10 per head below cost of production this year.

In retaliation for recently implemented U.S. tariffs on imported goods from China, that country has implemented tariffs totaling 50 percent on imports of U.S. pork products.

Where it is hitting the U.S. pork industry hard is in the market for offal — parts of the pig including organ meats and feet that are sought after in Chinese cuisine but often relegated to animal feed in the U.S. market.      

Hurt gave this advice to hog producers: “Given the heightened level of uncertainty, most pork producers will not want to make long-term decisions at this point. That means carrying on as best they can with short-term plans. The current trade war that agriculture has been unwillingly forced to participate in has an unknown and difficult-to-predict outcome. Only time will help bring the 'end game’ into better focus.”

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