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Growing demand and adding more value to US pork

Demand outlook was looking up for US pork as China and the US finally inked the Phase One trade deal.  But then, Bill Even, CEO of the National Pork Board says, “unfortunately right on the heels of that the coronavirus hit.”

He says that’s really slowed down international shipping and logistics.  “We’ve got meat in refrigerated containers sitting on shore and trying to get on the water to get to the markets where it’s needed,” he says.  “That’s putting some pressure on prices right now.  We’ve got the product and there’s huge demand, we’re just caught in a logistics bottleneck.”

He tells Brownfield the industry is always working to build more demand for US pork on the global market, including new opportunities in markets that have already been successful.  “We’ve just started working with the USDA and we’re looking at trying to move pork loin into Mexico,” he says.  “Traditionally they buy a lot of ham. Pork loin is a real high value, nutritions, low-calorie cut, but the value of it is extremely low.”

Even says by raising the value of loins, the value of the hog rises and so do producer profits.

Domestic demand is at an all-time record high and he says that’s helping to keep prices supported.