(Alice McFarlane/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Cheaper Chops

Oversupply to change pork prices

Feb 22, 2019 | 1:42 PM

An oversupply of pork will mean consumers will pay less for their chops.

Abundant hog supplies and ongoing trade issues are putting downward pressure on live hog markets.

HAMS Marketing Director of Risk Management Tyler Fulton said since the start of the year the hog slaughter exceeded last year’s levels by about four and a half per cent, approximately double the increase that had been anticipated.

U.S. packers have slaughtered well over 2.5 million hogs most weeks this year and pork supplies are backing up.

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“The demand side is performing reasonably well from the domestic demand standpoint but suffice it to say I think consumers in North America are going to be purchasing pork for less money,” Fulton said. “Because of the sheer volume of pork that’s out there and the constraints to shipping that pork off shore, the consumers are going to be buying that pork for cheaper.”

Fulton said the issue is with the export markets.

“Leaving supply aside, the export markets are not performing as well as one would hope. We’ve still got retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pork coming from Mexico in response to the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs,” Fulton said. “That is probably the single biggest factor that has pressured pork values lower. In fact values are trading among the lowest levels that we’ve seen in several years.”

Increasing imports to China would be considered a good opportunity but in the current environment with no signs of progress in the U.S. and China dispute, the market is factoring in skepticism about a resolution to some of those trade issues.

HAMS is a hog marketing service that represents Manitoba and Saskatchewan producers.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF