International Pork Trade and Foot-and-Mouth Disease

International pork trade has not only been influenced by trade agreements but also altered by consumer perceptions on disease-infected animals. This study uses a gravity model with fixed-effects to investigate how pork trade is affected by foot-and-mouth disease among 186 countries. Results confirm that pork export falls when an exporting country develops FMD. Exporters with a vaccination policy have larger negative impacts than those with a slaughter policy. Further, pork importers that develop FMD and institute a slaughter policy will import more pork, but importers with a vaccination policy import the same level of pork. In order to retain a position as a top pork exporter, a slaughter policy is often a better choice than a vaccination policy.