USDA INCREASES PORK IMPORT FEES

USDA INCREASES PORK IMPORT FEES    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has raised its import fee for pork and pork products by seven-hundredths to one-tenth of a cent per pound, effective Jan. 28.
   The USDA said the new fees, which are set under the 1985 Pork Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, reflect an increase in the 2000 average price for domestic pork. The average annual market price for domestic pork barrows and gilts increased from $31.46 in 1999 to $42.70 in 2000, an increase of about 36 percent.
   Adjusting the fee on imported pork and pork products would result in an estimated increase in revenue of $713,000 over the next 12 months, the USDA said. Fees collected on imported pork in 2000 amounted to about $3.4 million.
   The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Services administrator said the fee increase would not adversely affect small pork importers.