CHICAGO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Pork producers from all over the world gathered in the past three days at 2017 World Pork Expo in the U.S. Midwest State of Iowa.
From June 7 to 9, nearly 450 companies from North America, Europe and Asia displayed their latest products, services and technologies for pork businesses during the expo held in Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.
Organized by the U.S. National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), World Pork Expo features the world's largest pork-specific trade show, along with educational seminars, youth and open swine shows and market outlook sessions.
Swine shows attracted exhibitors of all ages. This year's junior show again set a record for the number of registrants, with 1,350 youth from 32 states, said organizers.
Business seminars this year covered topics ranging from piglet care to nutrition management and from better understanding consumers to mastering data collection.
Free trade was also one of this year's hot topics. U.S. pork industry leaders underlined the need to continue the successes of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for U.S. Pork.
As the U.S. exports 23 to 24 percent of its pork production, any disruption to current trade levels would dramatically overfill its pork supplies and pressure domestic hog prices, Steve Meyer, a pork trade analyst told a press conference during the expo.
The Trump administration formally notified Congress in May of its intent to renegotiate NAFTA, a step forward on a campaign promise.
