Canada is willing to stall a potential trade deal with China until China starts behaving better, according to CBC News. Canada’s ambassador to China says a trade pact doesn’t seem likely to be reached until China shows flexibility on controversial policies. Ambassador John McCallum says right now, much of the work on a potential trade agreement is focusing on “bridging …
ASF Could Drastically Change China’s Pork Market
African swine fever could reshape the pork market in China. A Rabobank report says the disease could accelerate a shift in pork production and boost import needs for 2019. Local supply shortages are being reported stemming from the ban on live hog transportation that was enacted to prevent further spread of the disease. The potential for radical change could “impact …
No USDA Trade Aid Planned For 2019
The Trump Administration has no plans in place for 2019 to give any more aid to farmers hurt by tariffs. Bloomberg says that’s based on assumptions that markets will recover even if the trade war with China keeps going. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue made that announcement last week. Back in July, the administration announced it would deliver $12 billion in …
Only Out of Control African Swine Fever Will Hurt U.S. Prices
A handful of economists tell Politico that the African Swine Fever outbreak in China and parts of Europe won’t have a major impact on U.S. exports. That’s due in large part to the fact that the outbreak has hit only a fraction of the massive Chinese hog industry. Chinese officials have culled hundreds of thousands of pigs from the nation’s …
China Blames Food Scraps for ASF Outbreak
China says the outbreak of African swine fever likely stems from the feeding of food scraps to pigs. China’s agriculture ministry Wednesday moved to ban the feeding of kitchen waste to pigs after more than 40 outbreaks of the disease have been reported since early August. China has not said how the disease first entered the country, but officials found …
China-owned Smithfield Foods Eligible for U.S. Trade Relief
China-owned Smithfield Foods is eligible for payments under the $12 billion aid package for farmers. The Washington Post reports word of the eligibility has made smaller pork producers unhappy. The Virginia-based, but China-owned, pork company can apply for federal money under a program created this summer. JBS of Brazil is also eligible to apply. The Department of Agriculture announced the …
China Wants to Stop Buying U.S. Soybeans
The biggest move by China against the U.S. in the tit-for-tat trade war could be a movement towards abandoning U.S. soybeans. China, facing a potential shortage following its 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans, is already purchasing from other suppliers and proposing to cut the amount of protein used in livestock feeds. CNN reports that one of China’s top feed …
Trump, China, To Talk Trade at G20
President Donald Trump is tentatively scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Group of 20 nations, or G20 summit next month. The two are expected to discuss the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Bloomberg News that U.S. goals are on the table and that the two leaders …
China Has Culled 200,000 Pigs Due to Swine Fever Outbreak
China, the world’s largest pork producer, has culled 200,000 pigs from its herds due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever. A Reuters report says Chinese health officials made the announcement last week. That number represents a small part of the 700 million pigs that China slaughters every year for food consumption. However, due to restrictions on transporting animals that …
Another African Swine Fever Outbreak Reported in China
China reports new outbreaks of African swine fever as fear of a global spread of the disease rises. Four reports were announced last week, and Monday, China reported a new case of the disease at a farm with nearly 20,000 pigs, the largest farm to report an outbreak. The new case, one many reported in the region recently, according to …