News
Pork industry hopes to expand on 2020’s record exports
The National Pork Board is optimistic 2021 pork exports will expand on 2020’s record year.
Norman Bessac, vice-president of international marketing says China will likely remain a big player in the export market for US pork, but the industry is also focused on growth in other markets. “Markets where we sell maybe one product, where we’ve gotten trial and now the focus is to have a more loyal customer and more continuity,” he says. “Those would be markets like Colombia, Central America, Australia, and New Zealand.”
He tells Brownfield there are also emerging markets where the industry anticipates significant growth over short periods of time. “Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia – those are countries that have probably been affected by African swine fever,” he says. “They have consumers that have more money in their pocket and they are willing to spend it on protein. And US pork is a very good value as an import product.”
Bessac says US pork is already very competitive on the global market, but with a weakening dollar, it could create even more demand for US pork around the world.
