February 26, 2009
US analyst sees positive support in frozen meat prices
JP Morgan analyst Ken Goldman saw positive results for meat prices on the cold storage front while frozen pork supplies were up 7 percent from the previous month and up 4 percent from last year.
The increases were small in comparison to the 29-percent year-over-year increase experienced in December.
Last week, USDA reported declines in both chicken and ham stocks, which was seen by Goldman as positive news for major meat and poultry processors.
The supply of pork bellies was down 4 percent from last year and ham stocks were down 8 percent.
As of January 31, USDA reported stocks of chicken in cold storage were down 11 percent from a year ago, with leg quarters down 19 percent.
USDA noted that it revised 2008 stocks data for boneless beef, total beef, pork hams, and total pork as a result of increased coverage of cold storage facilities as well as updated plant information.
