US meat exports are facing significant barriers at the moment, be this due to the sharp increase in the value of the US dollar, lower prices for competing meats in other countries or the slowdown strike in West Coast ports.
And then there is always the risk of markets closing their doors to imports due to disease outbreaks; Canada announced last week that it had found another case of BSE, which prompted South Korea to close its doors to imports. But the impact from that will be minimal. South Korea does not import much beef from Canada, and it is unlikely that the Canadian case will affect current US exports to the South Korean market.
But the case does highlight that if a case of BSE is found in the US, it could in the short term cause some markets to close their doors to imports.
Then there is the spread of avian flu in the US West Coast. There have been cases of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Washington State and California. Some countries have imposed limited export bans but China is the only major importer to impose a complete ban on US poultry shipments. But it remains to be seen how other countries respond now that a second case of bird flu has been found in a California, especially since this time it was found in a commercial operation.
