Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 4/11/19


USDA reported net pork export sales to China of 77,732 metric tons in the latest week, setting a weekly volume record by far, according to the Daily Livestock Report.

The data confirm market chatter in recent days that some U.S. pork packers are preparing to ship more pork to China, said the DLR, published by Steiner Consulting Group.

U.S. weekly export shipments during this time typically run about 25,000 metric tons, the DLR said.

The latest big sales order to China follows an order for 23,800 metric tons that was reported last month. The reporting of that sale and higher cash hog prices in China sparked a rally in hog futures during the past four weeks, the DLR said.

Exports to China are averaging triple what they were a year ago, and China also has on the books commitments for 96,453 metric tons of pork for this summer, compared to commitments for about 5,000 metric tons last year, according to the report. Total U.S. pork outstanding sales are about 40 percent higher than they were a year ago, the DLR said.

Experts at the American Meat Institute's Meat Industry Summit this week said African Swine Fever in China has wiped out 18 percent of the country's swine herd, meaning China will need to buy protein, but tariffs on U.S. pork of up to 67 percent complicate the picture.

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