The Argentine government, after negotiations with the USTR and USDA, has agreed to allow imports of American pork products for the first time since 1992. That may be part of a broadening trend of improving trade relations between the two countries, which included the U.S. providing Argentina with an exemption from the section 232 duties on steel and aluminum as outlined in Panjiva research of March 21. It also provides a small positive for American farmers as access to the Chinese market continues to hang in the balance over the same case.

Panjiva data shows 82.4% of U.S. exports of pork in the 12 months to February 28 went to NAFTA (42.0%), Japan (21.0%), China (9.9%) and South Korea (9.5%). Growth over the past three years though has been relatively lackluster at 4.1% in volume terms and having fallen by 2.2% in value (reaching $4.66 billion in the past year).

The growth opportunity from new markets can be significant though, with Colombian imports for example having grown 16.3% annually over the past three years.

Chart segments U.S. exports of pork meat and products by destination market. Source: Panjiva