Hog farmers getting crushed, thanks to con artist

[someoneyouknow]

American pig farmers are estimated to be losing out on $1 billion in exports as a result of the continued tensions between the two global economic powers.

Earlier this year, pig farmers in the U.S. had some hope that the tensions between Beijing and Washington would be resolved quickly as trade negotiations seemed to be going smoothly. But in May, Trump accused China of backtracking on promises it made during months of talks, resulting in even more tariffs being placed on Chinese goods coming into the U.S.

Right after that announcement, Chinese buyers called off orders of more than 3,000 metric tonnes of U.S. pork — the biggest cancellation in more than a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.​

The longer trade negotiations with China drag on, the more American farmers will see their window of opportunity close as global competitors claim parts of the Chinese market share.

Canada and Brazil are already making inroads in filling that void, with the South American nation already improving its market share in China from 4 percent in 2017 to 13 percent in 2018, the USDA reported.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/19/trump-tariffs-us-pig-farmers-1538546

 

[ishtat]

The gestation period of a hog is 3 months 3 weeks and 3 days. They produce on average about 9 live young per litter. That means that hogs can breed out a shortage crisis very quickly indeed.

There is not a big future for exports of pig meat to China and China will soon return to their normal near self sufficiency.

My take on this article is that it is essentially an attempt by US hog farmers to extract more 'welfare' from the federal government.

Incidentally foreign hog producers have claimed for years that US producers have an unfair advantage through subsidized feed for their hogs. It's not just a Tarriffs issue.