Foreign Agriculture Service has led USDA’s day-to-day efforts to break down trade barriers and generate export opportunities for U.S. agriculture for 2021. They have tried to get peanuts accepted back into the European Union. These efforts also resulted in market access for U.S. pork to India, poultry to Venezuela, and apples and pears going into Argentina, among others. Tyron Spearman …
U.S. Customs Seizes Prohibited Meat at the Mexican Border
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that their agriculture specialists seized prohibited meat products at the U.S.-Mexico border. Customs agents seized 243 pounds of prohibited pork bologna in two separate and unrelated incidents. Officials seized 55 pounds of pork products on January 13 and another 188 pounds of bologna on January 21. “Pork products have the potential to …
There’s a Lot Going on in the World of Agricultural Trade
In a story earlier this week, we told you that China wound up $16 billion short of achieving its obligations under the Phase One Trade Deal with the U.S. over the past two years. They missed the $40 billion a year goal by $13 billion in 2020 and by $3 billion in 2021. As Gary Crawford reports, the agricultural trade front …
Partial Opening of Nigeria Exciting News for U.S. Red Meat
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is reporting that sausages from the U.S. have gained access to a promising new market in Nigeria. Joe Schuele has a story noting how important that market is, as Nigeria’s population is by far the largest in Africa, and ranks seventh largest in the world.
Why U.S. Meats are Becoming More Popular Overseas
2021 was a record export year for U.S. meats such as beef and pork. Rod Bain has a story explaining what is actually behind this growth.
China Didn’t Meet Phase One Commitment
China wound up $16 billion short of achieving its obligations under the Phase One Trade Deal with the U.S. A DTN report says the Biden administration is looking for ways to keep China buying agricultural products. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack told the House Ag Committee that the administration is “putting them on notice that we want them to live up …
U.S. Peanut Exports are Disappointing
When it comes to the latest report concerning U.S. peanut exports, Tyron Spearman notes the numbers are a bit disappointing.
African Swine Fever One Reason for Stopping Food Smuggling
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported last week that Federal agents had seized and destroyed more than 1,900 pounds of prohibited pork, poultry and ruminant products from New York City-area retailers in the past three months. Smuggling of prohibited foreign food products into the U.S. does pose a threat to U.S. agriculture, but USDA and other agencies are …
Ports Backlog Effects on U.S. Ag Exports
For quite some time now we’ve been hearing about the backlog at U.S ports, both for imports and exports. Back in June of 2021, the White House announced a new Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address the short-term issues. Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman recently talked with John D. Porcari, Port Envoy to the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. They …
Pork Exports May Top 2020’s Record Amount
Numbers from the U.S. Department of Commerce say exports of U.S. pork are on pace to top 2020’s record total of $7.7 billion. From January through November, the U.S. pork industry shipped more than $7.5 billion worth of products to foreign destinations, compared to just over $7 billion from the same period in 2020. The top five markets for American …