News Corona crisis
US forced to cull 7 million pigs
American pig farmers have been forced to cull their pigs. Now that slaughterhouses are closed, they cannot lose their animals. About 7 million pigs are on the list, according to a report by the American CoBank.
The cause of the problem is the closed slaughterhouses as a result of the corona infections. It was previously announced that livestock farmers are forced to cull animals† Large pig slaughterhouses are closed, but cattle and poultry slaughterhouses are also standing still. Slaughter capacity drops significantly and many livestock farmers have no way of handling the animals.
culling pigs
It is estimated that around 2020 million pigs will be culled in the second quarter of 7. Nationally, about 700.000 pigs are culled every week because they cannot go to the slaughterhouses. The majority of these pigs are culled on the farms themselves.
In Minnesota, the JBS meat plant has reopened not to process pigs for sale, but to cull pigs from local farmers. According to a representative of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association, about 60.000 to 80.000 pigs are expected to be culled in Minnesota this week alone.
meat shortage
Although the closure of the meat factories is expected to be temporary, the impact on the meat market will be longer-lasting, the CoBank warns in its report. Will Sawyer, animal protein economist at CoBank: "Clearing will lead to a contraction in American livestock production, with the result that food supply shortages are expected to increase." The falling meat production in April will lead to a lower supply of meat in supermarkets in May and June, according to the bank.
According to the report, meat stocks for supermarkets could shrink by nearly 25% by Memorial Day (May 30). The shortage of meat in supermarkets could push prices up by 20% compared to last year, the report finds.
Chanti Oussoren
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