U.S. export sales of pork to China fell to their lowest level on record for the week ending March 5th.
Reuters says that’s even as accessing Chinese ports improved in the world’s number one pork consumer.
The USDA’s weekly report showed that Chinese buyer cancellations pushed down the total export sales to China to negative 45,222 tons of pork, the lowest since record-keeping began in 2013.
It shot past the previous record of negative 17,600 tons for the week ending January 2nd of this year.
Pork shipments to China totaled 139,719 tons, reflecting previous export sales.
China’s top ports have begun to clear up the logjam of cargo on their docks as workers return to their jobs after coronavirus travel curbs kept them away.
Global supply chains that have been jammed up by delays are starting to clear up.
Net sales of soybeans to China, typically the top destination for the oilseed, were negative 90,281 tons, the smallest since the week ending on August 5th, 2019, when USDA reported that cancellations pushed soybean sales to China to negative 422,600 tons.
Traders have been watching and waiting for exports to China to pick up since Beijing and Washington signed the Phase 1 trade deal.