WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, Apr 15 (Reuters): US pork exporters will soon be free to ship meat to Argentina for the first time in 26 years after the two countries thrashed out an agreement to overturn an Argentinian import ban.
The deal is a sliver of good news for US farmers facing trade tariffs and disruption to exports to the biggest global agricultural buyer, China.
China, the top global pork consumer and soybean importer, last week imposed a 25 per cent tariff on imports of US pork and threatened a tariff on soybeans, sending prices for both commodities lower.
US farmers need expanded export markets to shift big supplies of meat and grain that they may no longer be able to ship to China.
Argentina could grow to a $10 million-per-year market for US pork, according to the US Department of Agriculture and US Trade Representative's office, which announced the agreement on Friday.
"Once the people of Argentina get a taste of American pork products after all this time, we are sure they'll want more of it," USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement, adding that the deal showed the Trump administration's commitment to trade by launching markets for agricultural products.
The move follows an August meeting between Argentine President Mauricio Macri and US Vice President Mike Pence in Buenos Aires. Argentina in 1992 blocked imports of US pork, citing concerns over a parasite common in hogs raised outdoors. Most US hogs now are raised indoors.
"It's going to be a little slow out of the gate, like every market is. But I think it can really develop into something," said meat analyst Brett Stuart, president of Global AgriTrends.
Last year, Argentina imported $114 million worth of pork, with 88 per cent from Brazil, Stuart said.
A drought in Argentina also provided US farmers with unexpected export opportunities. Soybean buyers in Argentina earlier this week purchased 240,000 tonnes of US soybeans, the most in 20 years, after drought cut the crop.
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