National Pork Board invests in export activities for continued growth
By Kaitlynn Anderson
Staff Reporter
Farms.com
American pork producers may be pleased to know that the country exported a record amount of pork last year.
Producers provided 5.399 billion pounds of pork and pork variety meat to over 100 countries in 2017, according to Wednesday’s Pork Checkoff release.
The exports, valued at $6.486 billion, “continue to be an important piece of the puzzle for adding to producers’ bottom line,” Craig Morris, vice president of international marketing for the Pork Checkoff, said in the release.
And the National Pork Board recognizes the important role that exports play in the industry. The organization approved a nearly $8.7-million investment for export activities in 2018, the release stated.
“The National Pork Board’s investment at this level will ensure that all of the needed market promotion, development, and research is conducted to keep domestic producer share of returns from exports maximized to their fullest potential during this critical time,” Morris told Farms.com yesterday.
In 2017, some of the country’s top pork export markets included Mexico, China/Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, South Korea and South America.
In fact, “China and Mexico accounted for 86 percent of U.S. pork variety meat exports,” the release stated.