P. M. BRIEFING : U.S. to Send Pork to Poland

A formal agreement was signed today giving Poland up to 10,000 metric tons of pork bellies, part of a $100-million package of U.S. food aid promised by President Bush for this fiscal year.

The agreement was signed by Agriculture Secretary Clayton K. Yeutter, Ambassador Jan Kinast of Poland and Philip Christenson of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

During the Agriculture Department ceremony, Kinast said that the pork “helps us to meet our immediate needs” and that Poland has many complex economic reforms under way, which he said must be accomplished by the Polish people themselves.

Kinast was asked if the pork might have a depressing effect on Polish farm prices. He said the quantity is not very large considering Poland’s 38 million people.