Canada has resumed imports from the biggest US pork-processing plant, a Smithfield Foods facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina, after suspending shipments for about a week, Reuters reported, citing the company on Friday.
The halt temporarily limited a market for American pork products at a time when US farmers fear that agricultural exports will suffer from tit-for-tat tariff disputes with major buyers including Mexico, Canada and China.
Smithfield CEO Shane Smith said this week that the facility's suspension centered around a problem with offal products at the border and was unrelated to tariffs. Shares rose slightly on Friday.
"Canada temporarily suspended imports from this facility following an issue with a limited number of certain offal shipments," company spokesperson Jim Monroe said.
The suspension lasted from March 6 to March 12, and pork items produced by the facility after March 12 are eligible for export to Canada again, according to a US Department of Agriculture website.
Canada was the fifth-largest export market for US pork last year, with shipments valued at about $850 million, USDA data show.
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