CHICAGO – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday that commodity exporters must disclose sales of hog carcasses, giving officials and traders more insight into a surge of Chinese pork buying that has roiled global meat markets.
China’s pork imports have nearly doubled this year as a fatal pig disease has decimated its herd and pushed prices of the country’s favorite meat to record highs. Its beef and chicken imports have also climbed as China is seeking to replace millions of pigs killed by African swine fever.
The USDA published a rule to specify that exporters must report sales of pork and beef carcasses effective immediately because pork sales to China were rising and there was “an apparent lack of commensurate reporting,” according to an emailed statement.
China, the world’s largest pork consumer, is buying US hog carcasses from companies like WH Group’s Smithfield Foods because Chinese meat processors need entire animals, not just certain cuts, during the disease outbreak, according to analysts.
US carcass shipments to China began in June after Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, retooled a slaughterhouse to slice hogs into thirds for export to China in boxes. Shipments reached a total of 78,390 tons by the end of September, according to USDA data, topping 676 tons shipped in 2017.
“Timely reporting and publishing of agricultural export sales data is key to effectively functioning markets,” the USDA said. (Reuters)
