International demand helping to balance movements of this American meat
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Consumers in South Korea and South America are demanding more pork, helping to offset smaller movements of U.S. pork into China and Mexico, H@ms Marketing Services reported.
A decrease in wholesale pork prices and “peak U.S. hog production … have resulted in negotiated cash hog prices moving lower but (these prices) have steadied.” In contrast, “formula-based prices have been on a generally lower trend,” said a Tuesday Farmscape
article.
While the industry faces difficulties predicting demand for U.S. pork, this task is essential, said Tyler Fulton, director of Risk Management, H@ms Marketing Services.
“We're looking at record levels of total meat, and record levels specifically of chicken and pork,” Fulton said in the Farmscape article. “So, the domestic market has seen some softness in price, but, in terms of measuring demand, things are still generally pretty good.”
Limitations on the U.S. market, via tariffs from China or Mexico, likely continue to affect prices, Fulton added.
“It's difficult to put your finger on exactly how much, but I think it would be fair to say that we're looking at something in the neighborhood of $8 to $15 per hundredweight impact from the 78 per cent tariff that China has placed and the 20 per cent tariff that Mexico has placed,” he said.
Several countries in South America, as well as South Korea, have significantly increased their pork consumption. This expanded demand has likely helped to temper tariff concerns. Future markets have also benefitted from fears of how African swine fever will affect pork availability.
Farms.com has reached out to the National Pork Producers Council for comment.
National Pork Board and the Pork Checkoff, Des Moines, Iowa photo