USA: Week 2 Pig Market Review 2022

As of January 14, 2022, according to the USDA , the average cost of pork carcasses in the US market increased by $3.17 over the week.

Lean pork futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rose on bargain buys on Wednesday, though U.S. hog slaughter fell to its lowest level since August as a rise in Omicron CORONAVIRUS cases hit meatpacking plants, traders said.

About 433,000 pigs had been sent for slaughter by the middle of last week, a five-month low, down 12% from a year ago, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA cut its 2021 and 2022 US pork production estimates in a monthly report due to slower slaughter rates. Pig shipments to the US have declined over the past year, and slaughterhouses have been forced to slow down their processing lines. The USDA cut its 2022 pork production forecast by 0.3% from December to 27.53 billion pounds.

“Slow hog slaughter expectations in the second half of the year more than offset higher slaughter expectations in the first and second quarters,” the USDA said in a statement.

Pork prices in December were $4.74 per pound, down 1.8% from the previous month but up 15.0% from a year ago. The price of pork in December marks the first monthly decline since September 2020 and ends a series of eight months in a row with a record price for pork. The price of bacon in December was $7.22 per pound, down 1.4% from October's record price of $7.32 but up 23.7% from the previous year and the fourth highest throughout the history of observations. Prices for chops and boneless ham rose 6.7% and 8.0%, respectively, over the previous year, to $4.41 and $4.83 per pound.    

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Average price for pigs

Negotiated price

Price in carcass weight

Price in live weight

National based LM_HG203:

-price range ($)

- weighted average. price

-Change from the day before

-volume of sales

62.00-74.00

63.84

2.49

3767

44.00-53.00

50.14

There is no data

701

Iowa/Minnesota LM_HG206:

- weighted average. price

72.34

There is no data

Western Corn Belt LM_HG212:

- weighted average. price

72.34

There is no data

Eastern Corn Belt LM_HG210:

- weighted average. price

There is no data

There is no data

Weekly approximate volume of slaughter of pigs, thousand heads