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USMEF says food supply chains may be backed up, but still functioning

The US Meat Export Federation says despite the extended Lunar New Year holiday break, food supply chains are still functioning.

But, Joel Haggard, senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, who is stationed in Hong Kong, says there have been bottlenecks.  “The circulation of food and meat would have been regardless of the coronavirus,” he says.  “We add on top of that massive imports of meat and poultry in December and during the first part of January.  One could conclude a goods pileup was all but inevitable anyway.”

He says because of the coronavirus, African swine fever is receiving little media attention, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still concerns.  “Large shortages are still apparent from that outbreak,” he says.  “I was quite interested to see pork prices stay so higher over the holidays with so few people venturing out and with food service demand plummeting.  It’s just a sign in my mind that this ASF-induced pork shortfall is still very much with us.”

Haggard says China’s ongoing pork shortage will likely keep demand for imported protein at a very high level.