China has banned shipments of Minnesota pork products, even the legendary Spam.
Russia, too, is on the verge of saying nyet to Minnesota pork.
Almost overnight, the emergence of the H1N1 influenza — widely known as the swine flu — has caused Minnesota pork to be blacklisted in some of the world’s biggest markets, delivering a new blow to the state’s struggling hog industry.
More than 20 countries have vowed to halt pork imports — either from individual states where the virus has surfaced or, more commonly, from the entire United States.
The growing blacklist enrages the U.S. industry because experts agree consumers can’t catch the flu from eating pork.
"There’s absolutely no scientific reason to do it," said Nick Giordano, vice president of the National Pork Producers Council’s office in Washington.
"You would hope that the science and the law and rationality would prevail here and the bans would be lifted."
One-fourth of U.S.-produced pork was sent overseas last year, with sales hitting a record $4.9 billion. Rising exports had been a bright spot for the industry, squeezed in recent years by rising feed costs. As the nation’s No. 3 hog producer and home to meatpackers like Austin-based Hormel Foods and Wayzata-based Cargill, Minnesota enjoyed the ride.
Now, Minnesota finds itself in a gloomier spot — as a major hog state that, unlike its neighbors, can’t sell to some of its prime customers.
"It’s a big problem
for the exporters in the state," Giordano said. "What it means is that pork (going) to China has to come from another state. That causes dislocations in the industry."
In commodities trading Friday, hog futures rebounded after eight days of losses. But the flu-related slide chopped futures prices by 15 percent to 20 percent.
David Preisler, executive director of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association, suggests the national scope of most commodities markets depresses prices for all producers.
"It has the same sort of market effect on everyone, no matter where you live or where the animals are produced," he said.
The pork industry’s woes ultimately may not be among the biggest economic challenges tied to the H1N1 virus, but they’ve been among the first.
Within the United States, farm leaders and government officials say they’ve made progress on informing the public there is nothing to fear from eating pork. Overseas, it’s another story — made worse by suspicions that foreign buyers, especially China, are engaging in payback for U.S. complaints about unsafe Chinese products.
"Early on, there may have been a lot of misperception about the origin on the virus," said Joe Schuele with the U.S. Meat Export Federation. "Hopefully, we’ve cleared a lot of that up, but these issues become entangled in other matters related to trade."
Among the top four export markets for U.S. pork, three present troubles:
The No. 1 market, Japan, remains open, but No. 2 China has banned imports from specific states.
No. 3 Mexico is reeling as the epicenter of the outbreak.
No. 4 Russia also has banned imports from specific states.
Minnesota hasn’t yet appeared on the Russian list, but now that an infection has emerged here — and a second is considered probable — it wouldn’t be surprising if it were added.
Meanwhile, the U.S. pork industry is pushing back, trying to reopen closed markets. Amid the list of closures, there have been a few small successes.
"Costa Rica was one, Bolivia was another," said Schuele, with the meat export group. "We’re working with our own trade officials to keep these suspensions as limited and as short as possible."
Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428.
3
Minnesota’s rank in hog production, behind Iowa and North Carolina
6.9 MILLION
Minnesota hogs marketed in 2008
14
percent of Minnesota pork production that was exported in 2007
$3.9 BILLION
total economic impact of state hog production
Source: Minnesota Department of Agriculture
