Pork Checkoff Industry News

U.S. pork market has been quite volatile, largely due to the impact of the long holiday weekend on supply but also prospects of higher U.S. tariffs and potential retaliation.

The USDA ‘Hogs and Pigs’ report noted that supplies later in the summer and into the fall may start to trend above year ago levels. If true, this should help temper prices as supply seasonally start to improve.

Slaughter improved last week but was still under 2.4M head. Several weeks of limited slaughter have taken a toll, resulting in tight spot supplies and sharply higher prices.

A new marketing campaign looks to focus consumer’s attention on a key pork attribute: taste.

Hog slaughter was slightly lower than expected last week and two short production weeks will follow due to the upcoming long holiday weekend.

Potential for easing of tariffs, higher prices for competing proteins and seasonal supply decline have induced speculators to bolster bullish bets in the hog market.

Hog slaughter declined below 2.4 million last week as some plants were closed for Good Friday. This week slaughter is expected to be around 2.4 million again due to lower processing on Monday.

The tariff war is in its early days, but markets are already reacting, and global trade dynamics are shifting quickly.

The USDA ‘Hogs and Pigs’ survey results will be released on Thursday, March 27. We expect only a very modest increase in the breeding herd and hog supply as of March 1 up 1.5% vs. a year ago.

Lean hog futures remain volatile, with 7 up or down moves of +5% since the start of the year.