China imports of US hogs down thanks to restrictions, economy

US Hog futures fell to a four-year low last week as a strong US dollar made the country’s pork costlier than other countries’ amid an unexpected fall in demand from China, Bloomberg reported, citing industry sources. American pork exports to China in 2014 were down 34% from a year earlier thanks in part to restrictions on the import of pork from pigs subjected to the growth stimulant ractopamine, popular in the US. The country’s economic slowdown has also contributed to a 9% decrease in demand for pork, according to swine-industry research firm Soozhu.com, and domestic hog production is also on the rise.