Pork Belly Prices Remain Volatile
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Pork Profit Maximizer – Foodservice Edition August 19, 2019 The value of the belly primal on Friday was pegged at $169.81/ cwt, $91/cwt or 115% higher than a year ago. The increase in the value of the belly primal has contributed almost $14.4/cwt to the overall cutout (about 74% of the overall cutout increase in […]

Hog futures limit down on Friday even as China pork prices spike
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Pork Profit Maximizer – Retail Edition August 19, 2019 The pork cutout had been trending higher in the first two weeks of August but posted a sharp decline on Friday. October futures were down the daily permissible limit on expectations that, in the short term, record pork supplies will drive the cutout even lower in […]

Will Higher Tariffs Derail Pork Prices in Q4 and in 2020?
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While there is a lot of uncertainty going forward, and we think China may not buy as much from the US if the tariffs persist, we still expect a significant increase in Chinese pork exports in the second half of the year vs. last year’s levels. This should help support overall pork cutout values. Our […]

Hog Futures Tumb as US-China Trade Conflict Finds Another Gear
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The US pork market remains extremely volatile, as participants swing from extreme optimism to extreme pessimism, often in the course of a single month. A recent example: The CME October 2019 lean hog futures contract gained 20% in the two week stretch between July 8 and July 23. The rally reflected more robust cash hog […]

US cow herd and 2019 calf crop post first year over year decline since 2014
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Pork Profit Maximizer – Foodservice Edition July 22, 2019 According to the latest USDA semi-annual ‘Cattle Inventory’ report, released Friday, July 19, the total inventory of cattle and calves as of July 1 was estimated to be 103 million head, unchanged from the previous year and very much in agreement with the average of analyst […]