China to Increase Beef and Pork Imports From Europe; Investigation on Porcine Epidemic in US Pork Wrapping Up

China is expected to increase beef imports by 20 percent and pork imports by 4 percent next year, but U.S. producers won't be profiting from the increased trade, according to a new report. China is now forecast to buy about 830,000 tons of pork in 2016, up from 800,000 this year, but most of the 4 percent increase will benefit European exporters because much of what comes from U.S. farms has been raised with the growth-promoting ractopamine, which China still considers dangerous to consumers despite international acceptance of the drug.

Two years after cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea devastated the U.S. pork industry - leading to a spike in pork prices - the USDA has tentatively concluded an investigation that determined the disease likely found its way into the country through shipping container sacks that are often used to transport bulk animal feed. The USDA group that investigated the case visited the first affected farms and initiated studies to gather data. The investigation did not uncover any incontrovertible proof for any route of entry but deduced that container sacks were a likely suspect.