US pork exports to China are expected to increase, as the US pork industry has joined forces with Alibaba Group Ltd in a bid to corner a bigger slice of the Chinese pork market. 

The US Meat Export Federation, a trade association focused on developing viable export international markets for its members, has hooked up with Alibaba's group-buying website Juhuasuan and online retail platform Tmall to sell US beef, pork and lamb on the Juhuasuan website, reported China Daily.

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The partnership has been off to an impressive start, as 4,000 packages of pork shoulder and pork chop, which weigh about 10,000 kilograms, were put on sale on the website April 26 to 28.

According to Alibaba Spokesperson Lu Jianing, around 3,000 packages of pork, including 170,000 bags of spices, were sold during the three-day sale participated in by 300,000 shoppers.

The increase of US pork exports to China of comes at a time when the country is experiencing a shortage of pork amidst rising meat prices.

The Ministry of Agriculture reported that the average price of pork in the week ending on April 29 was 26.24 yuan per kilogram, which is up from 17.88 yuan as compared to the year before.

"The rising prices and imports of pork have been under spotlight lately," Liu noted. "The prices of US imported pork are lower than domestic prices," 

"We think it's a good opportunity to promote our service," he added.

China's pork shortage has been mainly attributed to decreasing hog counts and production in the country.

This development is seen as an opportunity for the US pork industry to establish a stronger foothold on the Chinese market, which consumes about half the world's pork.

"The US red meat industry is encouraged by the growth in its pork exports to China so far this year," noted Joel Haggard, USMEF's senior vice-president for the Asia-Pacific region.

"To the extent that rising Chinese pork prices make US and other countries' products more competitive, we can benefit," he explained.

USMEF data show that US pork exports to China were 86 percent higher as compared to last year's volume of 73,536 tons, and 50 percent higher in value at $138.6 million starting from the fourth quarter of 2015 to February of this year.

Tagschina, US, Pork Exports