The US administration has decided not to close the meat processing industry, despite the epidemic of coronavirus. The decision did not save the Americans from shortages, since the products are exported.
This was reported by Reuters.
It is noteworthy that China became the largest importer of American pork. Due to the domestic deficit associated with the new outbreak of African swine fever, the republic was ready to pay more for products from the United States than any other buyer, including the United States.
As noted in the media, against the backdrop of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States, about twenty meat processing plants were closed. Some have already resumed work. Nevertheless, according to economist Will Sawyer, by the end of May the amount of meat in American stores will be reduced by 30%, and the price will increase by 20%.
Moreover, according to the US Department of Agriculture, when the productivity of meat processing enterprises decreased by 40% since mid-March, the supply of American pork to China increased 4 times.
The largest supplier of products from the US to China was Smithfield. In March alone, the company shipped at least 13.7 thousand tons of meat to China by sea. It is noteworthy that Smithfield, the world’s largest pork producer, was bought by the Chinese WH Group for $ 4.7 billion back in 2013.