The American pig herd sets another record. It's a noose for the pig price in the United States.
On September 1, the USDA registered 73,5 million pigs. That is plus 2% compared to the same count last year. The penultimate count took place in July, since then the pig herd has grown by 3%.
With 21,7 million pigs, the state of Iowa has by far the most pigs. The total number of sows has increased by 1% in 1 year to 6.09 million sows. The number of piglets has increased by more than 1 piglets in 300.000 year to 21,5 million piglets.
Pig prices under pressure
The American pork price does not benefit from the large numbers. At the end of September, the Iowa/Minnesota quotation is just above $1 per kilo. While in July a quote of $2 per kilo was still within reach.
Since July, the Iowa/Minnesota quote has been in a negative spiral.