Washington - The National Pork Producers Council asked President Clinton on Friday to limit Canadian hogs crossing the border for slaughter and to increase U.S. government purchases because of the “national emergency” faced by American pork farmers.
Donna Reifschneider, an Illinois pork producer who heads the group, said without action by the administration, the industry will see thousands of farmers go out of business because of sharply lower prices and shrinking export markets.
Prices fell this week to the lowest level since 1971 and U.S. pork producers are losing an average of $50 to $75 on every hog, she said.
“Losses are of such historic proportions that if this dangerous situation is not reversed quickly, it will result in the failure of tens of thousands of pork producers and a massive restructuring of pork production in the United States,” Reifschneider said in a letter to President Clinton.
“We believe the economic crisis facing America's pork producers must be viewed as a national emergency, warranting immediate intervention by the U.S. government,” she added.
American pork farmers were disappointed by the U.S. government's emergency food aid package negotiated earlier this month with Russia. The $885 million package included only 50,000 tonnes of pork, compared to 120,000 tonnes of beef and 500,000 tonnes of wheat.
Pork producers also had hoped to win a bigger portion of the record $5.9 billion emergency bailout for farmers approved by Congress last month. Much of the package was earmarked for farmers with field crops who can qualify for so- called market loss payments.
The National Pork Producers Council specifically asked the Clinton Administration to do the following:
- Limit Canadian hogs crossing the U.S. border for slaughter. Canada is slaughtering about 50,000 hogs less per week than its total slaughter capacity, the pork council said.
- Increase government purchases of pork products for the federal school lunch program, the Food for Peace (P.L. 480) program and other humanitarian assistance.
- Offer emergency disaster loan guarantees to pork producers.
- Create an economic task force of government officials to address the crisis.
- Increase daily U.S. slaughter capacity by lifting the 144,000 head per week cap on the Carolina Food Processors Plant in North Carolina. The facility is now limited to slaughtering 24,000 head per day under Environmental Protection Agency rules, but has a daily capacity of 32,000, the pork group said.
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