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A global pork shortage could be on the horizon

A recent report from Rabobank projects half of China’s hog herd will be wiped out by African Swine Fever by 2020.  

Dan Halstrom, with the US Meat Export Federation, says China’s live hog industry is in liquidation mode and that will lead to a global pork shortage.  “Today the shortage is only on hogs,” he says.  “The freezers are pretty full, but it will be just a matter of time before they work through that.  There will be a shortage of pork protein coming out of China – which will impact the whole world.”

He tells Brownfield it will be a bullish situation for the hog market.  “We can expect a higher demand,” he says.  “And higher prices as a result of it.  But the thing nobody knows is when.”  

Rabobank also expects Vietnam’s pork production to drop by 15 to 20 percent from last year.  

African Swine Fever has also spread to other parts of Asia and has been found in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and North Korea.  The disease is highly transmissible and deadly to pigs, but it does not impact human health or food safety. 

AUDIO: Dan Halstrom, US Meat Export Federation

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