This was made possible by National Pork Producers Council working in conjunction with USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Money to replenish the fund passed the Senate, but is stalled in the House. Without IMF funding, pork exports to Asian nations could suffer further declines. Most of the price gain is from demand. We have seasonal growth in demand now.
Retail prices are such that margins are narrowing.
Plus, says Grimes, product weight for U.S. pork exports during the first two months of '98 were up 50 percent compared to last year.