The National Pork Producers Council is urging U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to work with Jamaica for greater U.S. pork market access.

In a letter sent Friday, NPPC said “U.S. pork is exported to over 100 nations in any given year and the U.S. typically is the world’s largest exporter of pork, but the barriers in Jamaica prohibit virtually all U.S. pork,” noting that Jamaica imposes restrictions based on unwarranted claims about the pseudorabies virus.

The U.S. hog herd has been free of PRV since 2003, and there is no scientific evidence to support Jamaica’s claim that the disease can be transmitted to hogs through raw pork. No other country imposes PRV-related import restrictions on U.S. pork, the letter noted.

“President Trump has called for reciprocity in our trading relationships. We strongly agree. We find it infuriating that Jamaica, the second-largest recipient of benefits from the Caribbean Basin Initiative program, continues to stonewall the United States on this matter. We urge you to break the logjam and open the Jamaican market to U.S. pork.”

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