Inside Pigs
Slightly more pigs in US, prices still high
The US pig population is growing again after a decline late last year and early this year. Slightly more pigs populated the stables in June than in March. Pig prices in the United States are at a relatively high level.
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This is evident from the quarterly report of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). During the corona pandemic last year, major problems arose with the slaughter and processing of pigs. In some cases, pig farmers were forced to euthanize animals. According to analysts, there was also a higher disease pressure in the livestock in the winter 2020/2021. This together resulted in lower production figures and fewer animals.
Numbers smaller than a year ago
Although the number of animals counted in June 2021 is slightly higher than in March of this year, the numbers are still lower than in June 2020. The total number of pigs amounted to 75,7 million pigs. That is 1% more than in March, but 2% less than last June. The number of sows amounted to 6,22 million. That was 160.000 fewer than in June 2020, a decline of 2,3%.
The number of piglets and fattening pigs amounted to 68,7 million, a decrease of 1,6% compared to last year. The number of piglets weaned per litter also decreased slightly. On average, American pig farmers weaned approximately 2021 piglets per litter from March 2021 to June 10,95. That was slightly lower than the 11,0 in the same period last year.
Prices at high levels
Pig prices in the United States have been at relatively high levels for several months. Pig farmers benefit from the relatively tight supply and strong demand for pork, both nationally and internationally. Demand in the US has itself been described as strong in recent months, as more and more corona restrictive measures were lifted and food service companies built up new stocks. Internationally, Asian and Mexican importers were interested in American pork.
Reports of a growing Chinese pig herd have recently put some pressure on prices. While contracts on the futures market for delivery in August 2021 peaked a month ago at €2,24 per kilo, they fell back to a level of €1,81 per kilo until the beginning of last week. News of a recovery in Chinese pig prices in recent days caused August contracts to rise again to around €1,92 per kilo of slaughtered weight.