Trade with China is trying to get back on track. The National Pork Board (NPB) is focusing on the short- and long-term needs for protein consumption in China. They released their findings, Wednesday, in a report called, “Pork 2040: China Market Assessment.” It details how U.S. pork can meet immediate needs and plan for competing with China in the future.
Norman Bessac is Vice President of International Marketing for the Pork Checkoff. He says the goal of this study is to establish a long-term strategy for U.S. pork consumption in China. The study was started before China had its first confirmed case of African Swine Fever (ASF). The study was able to take the effects of ASF into consideration.
Rupert Claxton is Meat Director for Gira, a global marketing firm that conducted the study. He breaks down how important pork consumption is in China. Their average per capita consumption of pork is leaps and bounds above other countries.
Claxton says U.S. pork will be able to fill an immediate need in Chinese pork demand. He says it will be almost distracting. However, the real challenge is positioning U.S. pork as a choice past 2025. Claxton says China will recover from ASF, and that is when it will become a more challenging marketplace.
Randy Spronk is a farmer from Minnesota and chairs the U.S. Meat Export Federation?s Pork Committee. He says ASF has toppled the way China used to raise pork. By 2025, Spronk believes China will completely restructure pork production and challenge the U.S. and European Union head-on in the global market.
Spronk says we already saw a start to this modernization of the Chinese Pork Industry. The fallout from ASF has fast-tracked these plans.
Hormel Foods International Sales and Marketing Manager Jack Shao says the American pork industry needs to capitalize on China?s downtime to establish strong export partnerships.
