China Boosts Pork Imports

U.S. pork export sales have doubled this year to date with sales to China the principal destination. China’s swine herd was decimated by swine fever. China’s sow inventory is recovering but it will take some time for slaughter numbers to get back to normal. Increased hog numbers will require boosting soybean meal imports in the second half of 2020.

The corona virus outbreak is a wild card in assessing Chinese demand for US pork. Chinese consumers may prefer to stick to U.S. pork as a safer alternative to domestic pork.