CAPE TOWN: One market that has seen strides as a U.S. pork trading partner is South Africa, as U.S. sales to the nation reached 946 metric tons during the first nine months of 2017. That’s a 200% increase from 2016, and that’s with partial ban still in place by South Africa.
South Africa restricts the import of pork from countries with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, though the World Health Organization has claimed that trade does not increase the risk of transmitting the disease. The nation also requires non-frozen pork imports to be tested for trichinae, though the parasite is not present in commercial pork.
Last week, the National Pork Producers Council submitted comments as part of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s investigation of U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Africa. Last November, following the receipt. USITC launched its investigation into expanding trade in the region. The investigation will examine opportunities for trade expansion between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa.
The NPPC supports lifting the trade restrictions imposed by South Africa, which would support the U.S. pork industry’s efforts to expand export markets throughout the region.
