Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures continued higher on Wednesday, reaching a 6-1/2 year high as optimism for consumer demand increases against tighter hog supplies. CME April lean hogs closed 1.3 cents higher at 97.775 cents/lb., after notching a life-of-contract high at 97.925 cents, while the most-active June contract added 0.8 […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures climb as processing slows
Live cattle steady as beef prices level off
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures gain on tight supplies
CME cattle futures firm
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures firmed on Tuesday, marking the contract’s fifth gain in six days, pushed higher by increased demand for pork as restaurants reopen, while supplies remain low. “You have some supply-side influence on why the market is this good,” said Brad Kooima, commodity broker at Kooima Kooima […] Read more
Brazil’s BRF gets nod to export wings to Canada
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian food processor BRF said on Tuesday Canada has authorized chicken wing exports from two of its plants located in top farm state Mato Grosso. BRF has been seeking to sell more products to Canada to strengthen its position in developed markets and also shore up competition against domestic rivals […] Read more
Olymel restarting hog slaughter at Red Deer
Work to resume at pork plant this week
Meat packer Olymel plans to restart slaughter operations Thursday at one of Canada’s largest hog plants following a major outbreak of COVID-19 among employees. Olymel, an arm of Sollio Co-operative, said late Wednesday it had recalled “employees that are needed to ensure that the gradual restarting of operations goes smoothly” at its Red Deer, Alta. […] Read more
Olymel closure due to COVID creates costly backlog for hog producers
Backlog of hogs tops 100,000 and it will take weeks to work through it when plant reopens
Reading Time: 2 minutes Red Deer’s Olymel plant remains closed following three deaths linked to the COVID-19 outbreak at the hog processing facility. The plant closed temporarily but indefinitely on Feb. 16, and as of press time, it remained closed, with more than 500 confirmed COVID cases linked to the facility by Alberta Health Services. That’s more than a […] Read more
Olymel to close Red Deer hog plant against COVID-19
Hog deliveries suspended 'until further notice'
Meat packer Olymel plans to temporarily close its hog slaughter and pork processing plant at Red Deer, Alta., winding down that facility’s operations starting this week against a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak among workers. The plant, one of Canada’s largest by slaughter capacity at over 45,000 hogs per week, has notified its hog suppliers and […] Read more
Former F. Menard hog plant upgrading for second shift
Olymel announces $9 million in renovations
Pork and poultry packer Olymel plans to dial up its pork output with a new evening shift at a Quebec hog plant it now owns in the province’s Monteregie. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Sollio Co-operative Group, said Friday it will invest $9 million in renovations at its slaughter, cutting and deboning plant at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs set contract high on strong demand, lighter weights
CME cattle futures close lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on Wednesday reached a contract high for the second consecutive day on strong demand and a decline in farm animal weights, analysts said. Average hog weights have declined as processors have cleared a backlog of hogs on farms that began last spring when COVID-19 outbreaks temporarily shut […] Read more
China’s 2020 corn, wheat imports reach record highs
Beijing | Reuters — China’s grains imports soared to record highs in 2020, customs data showed on Monday, after tight domestic corn supplies pushed prices to multi-year peaks, driving demand for cheaper imports. China, the world’s top agricultural market, bought a record 11.3 million tonnes of imported corn last year, including 2.25 million tonnes in […] Read more
China’s 2020 pork output higher than expected
Reported slowing of ASF-induced decline beats expectations
Beijing | Reuters — China’s pork output posted significant signals toward recovery last year after the sector was decimated by an incurable hog disease in 2019, official data showed Monday. China’s 2020 pork output fell 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, to 41.13 million tonnes, after plunging 21 per cent in 2019, the National […] Read more
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