China Is Hogging the World's Meat Supply

choi

Nathaniel Taplin, China Is Hogging the World's Meat Supply; A shortage of pigs has caused meat imports to soar, which should help US companies like Tyson. Wall Street Journal, Aug 31, 2019 (in the page called "Heard on the Street," which alludes to Wall Street)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/rav ... -stocks-11567156656
("By July [2019] the number of hogs in China -- by far the world's largest pork consumer -- was close to a third lower than a year earlier, according to official statistics. And the situation may be even worse than the headline figures imply. A June report from Reuters suggested that as many as half of China;s breeding pigs may have died or been slaughtered [the latter for fear of infection and hence financial loss].  As a result, wholesale pork prices [in China] are skyrocketing -- up roughly 60% on the year [compared with the same month a year ago]. * * * For much of 2019, US pork has faced Chinese tariffs upward of 50%. But the value of the US meat exports in aggregate was still up 8.3% on the year in June, the fastest growth since May 2018. The reason: The enormous pork shortage is sucking meat into China at an astonishing rate. Total meat imports in July [obviously based on data from China's customs] were $1.7 billion, up close to 90% from a year before.  Most of this is coming from places other than the US. But the sheer scale of China's jump in demand is pushing up overall US meat exports, too, as non-US producers redirect cargoes to China to take advantage of the price increase [meaning that yes, transshipment of American port to China does exist, but that it is not Americans who do the tricks but non-US producers].Chinese pork stocks have benefited: Shares of Muyuan Foods [Co, Ltd 牧原股份公司], China's second largest hog producer, are up close to 40% since June")

Note:
(a)
(i) One may view the graphic that accompany the report by searching images.google.com with ("Nathaniel Taplin" Meaty-Go-Round), where the online image shows US exports in green but the print one in red (China's imports are black in both versions).  Meaty-Go-Round is a wordplay on merry-go-round.
(ii) hog (v)
https://www.etymonline.com/word/hog

Definition at the bottom of the Web page.
(b) "headline figures"
(i) headline (adj -- before noun): "a headline amount, number, or rate is the most important one or the one that people notice most  <The credit card company will cut its headline rate of interest to 19.9 percent.>  <The headline figure of 3.6 percent isn't as bad as it looks if you exclude the effects of oil prices.>"
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/headline

adjective
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective
(section 2 Types of use: attributive vs predicative)
(ii) headline
(n): "front-page news  <the scandal made headlines>
(adj): deserving mention in a headline : very noteworthy  <the headline abduction of a diplomat>"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/headline

(c) "value of the US meat exports in aggregate"

The reporter wants to talk about total US meat export in June, Although US Department of Agriculture does release monthly trade (import and export) figures by countries (including Hong Kong), for pork and other meats. See
Livestock and Meat International Trade Data. Economic Research Service (ERS), Department of Agriculture, undated.
ttps://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/livestock-and-meat-international-trade-data/livestock-and-meat-international-trade-data/#Monthly%20U.S.%20Livestock%20and%20Meat%20Trade%20by%20Country