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Weak dollar advantage for U.S. meat exports

Now is the time to push meat exports while U.S. currency is low, according to Keith Miller, Chairman of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The Kansas livestock producer said the U.S. needs to get serious about exporting meat.

“We have a very cheap dollar making our product extremely cheap overseas when we go into a competitive market,” Miller told Brownfield in a recent interview. “Right now we can make great end runs in getting a volume of business if we just work it.”

Foremost, said Miller, is to work through some of the roadblocks impeding meat exports to other countries. One breakthrough would be the finalization of pending bi-lateral free trade agreements, he said.

“We hope they can get [the agreements] done,” said Miller, “because that will do nothing but help American agriculture if that happens – that would really make a difference on the bottom line of our producers here in the United States.”

Miller credits the Obama Administration for its efforts to increase overseas sales of U.S.-produced goods.

“Obama said he wanted to double exports in the next five years,” said Miller. “We’re definitely seeing him trying to do that now and that’s really helping us in these overseas markets.”

But the strength of meat exports is not new, according to Miller. “The thing that we need to think about is how much we’ve increased exports over the last few years, especially in pork…we’re exporting about one in every four hogs we produce.”

AUDIO: Keith Miller (3 min. MP3)