China's ban on imports of U.S. pork based on fears of the H1N1 influenza, in place now for more than four months, has been particularly harmful for processors and exporters of small intestines meant for casing manufacturing in China, according to Kevin Smith, U.S. Meat Export Federation's director of export services for Asian markets.

"The real industry there in China is where the small intestines are manufactured into casings," said Smith, who was a member of a USMEF delegation that just visited China. "And from that point on those companies basically re-export that product for use in manufacturing sausages and [other products] all around the world, including back to the U.S.

"It's a very unique situation," Smith explains, "because it's a relationship between the companies in China and the companies here in the U.S. Without that outlet for that product, there really are very limited options for U.S. companies. The only other option then really is to go into rendering or utilize [the product] domestically, but at a much lower value."

And that won't change anytime soon. Efforts by the USMEF team and the U.S. government to persuade China to lift its ban have not been successful.

"The perspective of the government in China is very hard line at the moment," Smith said. "Any opportunity we had to ask questions about expanding access and asking any questions that were technical in nature about H1N1 was met with really nothing positive. There's just no flexibility, no willingness to really make anything work to try to move any product into the marketplace."