June 28, 2010
China a potential market for US pork
The world's largest pork consumer and producer, China is a very intriguing market for the US industry as its demand for imported pork can vary greatly according to its own production cycles.
Joel Haggard, US Meat Export Federation senior vice president for the Asia Pacific region, explains that capitalising on opportunities for US pork in China depends greatly on accurate market intelligence - which is not easy to come by.
Most opportunities for US pork in China are in the foodservice sector - which is growing by 15% to 20% per year - and with China's major meat processors. Retail marketing opportunities may develop in the future, but are very limited at this time.
US pork shipments recently resumed to China, after about a one-year absence due to lingering restrictions related to avian influenza.
