Beijing/Reuters – With China’s Lunar New Year festivities fast approaching, pig farmers in the world’s biggest pork market have little to cheer. As they fatten herds to meet peak demand, a slump in retail prices and a spike in feed costs are grinding up profits. A wave of imports has squeezed pork retail prices 10 […] Read more
Fat herds, leaner profits: For China’s pig farmers, New Year feasts bring cold comfort
Hog sector optimistic heading into New Year
CNS Canada –– A rally in U.S. hog futures over the past few weeks is also being felt in the Canadian industry, which has brought some optimism to the sector heading into the New Year. “The isoweans are stronger, which tells us that there is greater demand in the U.S. going into the spring and […] Read more
Olymel buys Alberta hog farming operation
Pork and poultry processor Olymel has tightened the links in the hog supply chain for its Alberta pork plant by buying supplier Pinnacle Farms. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec’s La Coop federee, announced Friday it has bought Standard, Alta.-based Pinnacle, including all its hog inventory, for an undisclosed sum. The company’s 30 employees […] Read more
Argentina pledges access for Canadian pork
Canada and Argentina are in late-stage talks that would see Canadian pork exporters regain access to that South American market. Following a meeting between Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the federal government last Friday said the two countries have “acknowledged the necessary steps to complete the process to allow for […] Read more
Smithfield Foods to buy Farmer John from Hormel
Reuters — Smithfield Foods said it would buy parent of the Farmer John and Saag’s Specialty Meats brands, and farm operations in three U.S. states from Hormel Foods for US$145 million in cash. Smithfield will buy Clougherty Packing as well as hog farm operations under PFFJ, or Pigs for Farmer John, in California, Arizona and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures climb as cash price outlook improves
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Thursday gained for a third straight day, driven by short-covering following renewed optimism for cash prices by Friday, traders said. December and February contracts broke through their respective 10-day moving averages of 102.90 and 104.86 cents, which triggered fund buying. December live cattle closed 1.025 cents […] Read more
Record U.S. hog slaughter puts pressure on Canadian pork prices
CNSC/Winnipeg – A record week for U.S. slaughterhouses is weighing on hog prices in Canada. According to the USDA, hogs slaughtered under federal inspection for the week ended November 5 were pegged at 2.532 million head, which is an all-time record. That number is also up 7.2 per cent from the 2.362 million head processed a […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures shrug off early losses
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Wednesday after bargain buying and cash price expectations offset initial selling, said traders. CME cattle and hog market participants at first sold futures after Donald Trump unexpectedly won the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday. “People are still concerned about what a Trump administration would […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Bargain buying reverses CME live cattle futures skid
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rallied on Tuesday as strength from bargain buying and short-covering ended the market’s four-session slide, said traders. They said futures garnered more support from fund buying after contracts broke through technical resistance levels. Most actively traded December live cattle closed 0.950 cent per pound higher at 102.600 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures losses mount; hogs rally
Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower for a fourth straight session on Monday, led by initial technical selling and a retreat in wholesale beef values, said traders. Most actively traded December live cattle closed 1.075 cents per pound lower at 101.650 cents, and settled nearly par with the 40-day moving average […] Read more
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