Taiwan paved the way for an eventual free trade deal with the United States on Friday by announcing an easing of restrictions on the import of U.S. beef and pork, as they look to boost ties with Washington.
China made its largest weekly U.S. beef purchases on record last week, followed by its biggest U.S. corn deals in almost a month this week, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released on Thursday.
Several plants have been suspended in Brazil but only one has in the U.S., where more than 16,000 meatpacking workers in dozens of plants have been infected with coronavirus.
Two U.S. Senate Democrats are pressing meatpackers to disclose by month's end how much pork, beef and chicken they have shipped to China during the coronavirus outbreak while warning of possible meat shortages at home.
As large Chinese purchases of soybeans continue to roll in while rumors of a broken relationship abound, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer assured farmers on Wednesday that the deal is still intact.
School time now comes with some shop time for Indiana farmer Charlie Houin and his sons. While great-grandma, grandma and grandpa help homeschool due to the COVID-19, Houin works to get equipment ready for planting.
As African swine fever leaves China with a formidable protein gap, Brazilian meat producers have been rewarded with a boom in shipments. Now, that demand burst could start spreading into the U.S.
Earlier at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue addressed the scare of the coronavirus to the beef industry. It still remains a threat today.
