Agricultural News
Declining Pork Exports Challenge U.S. Pork Producers, Roy Lee Lindsey Says
Tue, 28 May 2013 12:55:54 CDT
With pork exports lagging and corn planting in the Midwest behind schedule, Roy Lee Lindsey, executive director of the Oklahoma Pork Council, says it could be another challenging year for pork producers.
Lindsey spoke recently with Radio Oklahoma Network's Ron Hays and said there are several other changes currently keeping pork prices in check including more supplies of pork in cold storage and the dollar which is gaining strength on the world market. But, he said, the biggest issue he sees is a veiled protectionism that seems to have taken hold in a few countries.
"The biggest change is folks in China, folks in Russia, folks in other part of the world who have decided they want to protect their domestic industries and so they've erected trade barriers, is what it really boils down to. They're not food safety issues. There's nothing wrong with our product and they know they can't compete with what we can do in terms of efficiency, in terms of price, in terms of quality so they put up these artificial barriers that keep us from being able to move as much product."
He said exports are down significantly after years and years of record sales and record exports. The Unites States exported 24 percent of its pork production last year. This year's exports are significantly lower.
"We've become dependent on the export markets and that's both good and bad. It's good for sales, it supports dollars, it adds dollars to our pocket when we're moving that product. But, when something happens and those people aren't buying or something closes a market, that creates more product here and it depresses prices a little bit so we have to find new ways to move product here, domestically."
Lindsey says countries that have banned the import of U.S. beef and pork over the use of ractopamine is simply a convenient excuse to prevent product from coming into their countries to the benefit of their domestic producers.
He says the profitability of the U.S. pork industry going forward is directly tied to the size of this year's corn crop. If it is a record-breaking harvest as the USDA is forecasting, profitability will be enhanced. If the crop falls short, pork producers are in for a tough year.
"If we can get corn back in that $5 or $5.25 range, with what our exports are, what our prospects are, we could have a very profitable year for hog producers."
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear the full interview.
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