031225 Pork Exports Running Ahead of Year Ago

Washington, DC - A Year Ago In the first 10 months of 2003, U.S. processors exported 1.4 billion pounds of pork, more than 6% above the same period last year. As usual, the largest foreign markets for U.S. pork products this year have been Japan, accounting for 49% of exports, Mexico, accounting for 19%, and Canada, which has so far taken 11% of U.S. pork exports. Larger exports to smaller Asian countries--Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong--have compensated for slower shipments to Canada.

So far this year, Japan has imported 683 million pounds of American pork products, almost 6-% more than in the same period last year. The increase has come despite Japan’s imposition of the pork Safeguard on August 1. The Safeguard is a 25-percent increase in the minimum import price of pork, which is sanctioned by the World Trade Organization to protect Japanese pork producers from the price effects of import surges. The Safeguard has been imposed three times by the Japanese Government in the last three calendar years. It will be lifted April 1, 2004, the first day of the Japanese fiscal year.

With the Safeguard in place, Japan imports less pork. When Safeguard imposition appears imminent, Japanese traders import enormous quantities of frozen pork, accumulating huge stocks to supply domestic markets while the Safeguard is in place. Imports of frozen pork thus decline the most while the Safeguard is in place, and imports of fresh pork products take relatively less of a “hit”. Consequently, Denmark, which for geographic/transport reasons can only export frozen pork to Asia, is affected by the Safeguard to a greater degree than the United States and Canada, whose exporters ship both fresh and frozen pork products.

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