The front page of the December issue of Whole Hog presents the key data from the USDA’s quarterly hog census (released 23 December). These numbers suggest that the global pig industry faces a boom and bust scenario in 2015. The impact of PEDv has created ideal conditions for supply shortages/price increases/production hikes in North America but Continue reading
In the run up to Christmas all livestock producers hope to get something extra from the market. In Europe there seems no hope of any such bonus this year. Pig prices have been weakening for the last month and look set to enter the holiday season on a falling trend. The price data for November and December offer no early Christmas presents for farmers: no Santa rally is evident anywhere – not even in Lapland.
There is more detail on these prices in the latest issue of Whole Hog Brief and it seems that Continue reading
November 2012
The November issue of Whole Hog Brief leads with an analysis of the latest UK pig herd census data and Tesco’s new commitment to offer farmers a price for pork that reflects feed price changes. It seems that some parts of the United Kingdom are reducing sow numbers much faster than others and understanding how the United Kingdom’s regions are behaving is key to forecasts of where UK pig production is heading. Understanding where Danish pig prices are going is crucial to our views of the global pork market and we have the views of the chief economist at the Danish Agriculture and Food Council in the latest issue.
September 2012
The front page of the September issue deals with numbers arsing form the latest German pig herd census – sow numbers are down but the number of pigs is up: productivity and live pig imports explain this. The latest census results for the North American herd and the Canadian herd are also discussed in the issue and productivity seems to be rising in these countries too. The charts o the Global Pig Price Index illustrate that the global pig price cycle is holding up – Europe’s prices seem to be the key support. Pig prices are flying off the charts in the EU and our charts show this clearly.