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Trade a top issue as pork expo gets under way

By Staff | Jun 7, 2011

DES MOINES (AP) — Pork industry officials gathering this week in Des Moines said proposed trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea are among their top priorities. About 20,000 producers and industry professionals are expected on the Iowa State Fairgrounds for the annual World Pork Expo from Wednesday through Friday. National Pork Producers Council president Doug Wolf says the trade deals are a key issue. The Obama administration has begun the process of submitting final legislation for the agreements but it’s not clear when Congress will get final versions of the trade pacts. A study by Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes indicates the deals would add more than $11 to the price a producer gets for each hog and generate thousands of jobs. Failure to reach deals could reduce U.S. pork sales.