China Halts Some U.S. Poultry Imports
- China suspended poultry imports from a Tyson Foods plant in Springdale, Arkansas where hundreds of employees tested positive for Covid-19.
- All products from the plant that are about to arrive in China or have arrived at the country’s ports will be seized by customs.
- China’s customs authorities have started testing imported meat for the coronavirus and requesting infection-free certificates on all shipments.
- The move comes after a fresh coronavirus outbreak in Beijing possibly linked to imported frozen fish.
- Tyson cites reports from the CDC and WHO that say there is no evidence that virus transmission is associated with food.
- Through April, U.S. exports of poultry products, excluding eggs, to China were at $152 million, up from only about $7 million in the same period in 2019, thanks mainly to China lifting its import ban on US poultry.
FBN’s Take On What It Means: Many U.S. producers are counting on a surge in agricultural exports to help lift prices as world economies start to reopen. Even if no infection is found, China’s increased inspection process could still end up having a big impact on global food shipments. A continued suspension or significant slowdown of imports would also raise concerns about meeting goals set forth in the Phase 1 trade agreement.
India to Plant Record Cotton Acres
- India is the world’s top producer of cotton.
- Farm ministry data as of June 12 showed growers had planted cotton over an area 23% larger than last year.
- The Indian government raised its buying price to support farmers hurt by a near two-month shutdown of textile mills.
- Global cotton prices have fallen over 11% this year, as the coronavirus outbreak hit consumer demand.
- India's cotton exports are forecast to rise to 890,000 tonnes in the 2020/21 marketing year from 530,000 tonnes in 2019/20.
- USDA sees India’s exports at 4.5 million bales versus 3 million in 2019/20.
FBN’s Take On What It Means: USDA cut its forecast of global cotton consumption for the 2019/20 marketing year and lifted ending stocks for 2020/21 in last week’s report. Increased exports from India on top of too much leftover inventory at the end of the crop year may limit further gains in cotton prices which have begun to recover from lows made in early April.
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