February 13, 2008

US hog slaughter up by 4 percent on-year
 

US hog producers could suffer great losses this year due to raising feed costs and overproduction.

Many producers could lose over US$50 for each hog, and most are already absorbing losses of US$25 per hog.

Feed prices have contributed to the problem, with corn selling at US$4-5 per bushel, and soymeal selling at US$320 per tonne.

Experts have also said that US farms have raised far too many pigs for 2008, though exports continue to soar and domestic consumption is strong. Inventories show that farms will send 4 percent more hogs to slaughter this quarter than a year ago; last year, there was also a 4 percent increase of slaughtered hogs.

As a result, meat plants are filled with 2.4 million hogs per week.

Meanwhile, Canada's hog producers are also paying high feed costs but they have made losses in the crucial US market due to the falling US dollar. Many Canadian hog producers are liquidating their herds, selling them in Canada and the US.