American experts and industry officials say there are factors besides health concerns behind the pork ban imposed by Russia, China and other countries.
Dave Warner, a spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council, said the countries imposing the ban were using food safety as an excuse, according to an Associated Press report.
U.S. pork producers have lost about $81.5 million as a result of H1N1 virus bans and decrease in pig prices. The already unstable economy has forced prices to remain below $60 per hundredweight.
Robert Wisner, an economist at Iowa State university, said feed prices may increase again as the worldwide supplies of grain tighten, according to a report in the Des Moines Register.
