By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Facing a plummeting cash and futures market, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack May 5 asking for federal intervention for a pork industry battered by the negative effects of what was initially referred to as “swine flu” and is now widely known as H1N1 influenza.

Pork producers who prior to the announcement of the flu outbreak were already reeling from 19 consecutive months of setbacks have seen their losses accelerate to an average of $17.69 per head as of May 1, according to the NPPC’s letter, with total industry losses reaching $7.2 million per day between April 24-May 1.

“Given those losses and based on May 1 futures prices, a bad situation for pork producers has been exacerbated and could get worse unless the industry gets some relief,” said NPPC President Don Butler, in a prepared statement.

To help pork get back on its feet, the NPPC has asked Vilsack to implement a USDA purchase program for $50 million of pork products to help boost cash hog prices. The products, NPPC recommended, could be put into federal emergency food programs, food pantries, senior and elderly meal programs and other channels.

The NPPC also urged Vilsack to compel President Obama to work with trade partners to remove all export restrictions on U.S. pork products. In addition, NPPC recommended the development of a “comprehensive surveillance program” for swine diseases that would provide an early warning system for emerging varieties. Mandatory premises and animal identification would be necessary, the NPPC concluded.

As a final request, NPPC urged Vilsack to do what he could to keep the U.S.-Canada border open in the wake of a report that pigs from a Canadian pork operation contracted H1N1 from a worker.
Vilsack seemed to respond to the letter from the NPPC on May 7, telling a Senate Appropriations Committee that pork producers have suffered and will continue to do so because of the misidentification of H1N1 as swine flu.

“We are looking at ways we can be of assistance or help,” Vilsack said, according to a Reuters article. Vilsack did not offer any details about how the USDA might assist the pork industry or when aid might be forthcoming.

According to the USDA, 22 countries have full or partial bans on U.S. pork, as of press time. Russia and China imported just under $700 million worth of U.S. pork products in 2008, accounting for approximately 15 percent of the $4.7 billion in total pork exports by the U.S.

“We will continue to focus our efforts on reopening these markets,” said Vilsack.

On May 6, he joined Canadian Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz and Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Alberto Cardenas in issuing a statement expressing sympathy for the victims of the H1N1 outbreak and decrying export trade restrictions based on misinformation.

“We strongly urge the international community not to use the outbreak of the H1N1 human influenza as a reason to create unnecessary trade restrictions,” the statement read, in part.
“International organizations, including the World Health Organization ... all reiterate that the consumption of pork meat and related products do not present a health risk of contracting H1N1 human influenza.

“All three of our countries are committed to ongoing monitoring and vigilance in both public and animal health.”

Noting that the U.S. pork industry is “nearing the brink of financial disaster,” the NPPC issued a statement on May 1 calling for accurate reporting on the H1N1 influenza outbreak by consumer media sources.

“We strongly urge the media to accurately report about the H1N1 flu virus and the safety of pork consumption,” stated NPPC CEO Neil Dierks. “Inaccurate media reports are negatively affecting U.S. pork producers and the reputation of U.S. pork as a quality and safe product. That’s hurting producers economically and threatening U.S. pork export markets.”

The NPPC urged the nation’s pork producers and others involved in the industry to address misinformation spread by consumer media about H1N1.

“Everyone should be focusing resources on finding a solution to this public health threat, not making unscientific claims,” Dierks said.