US: Lower dressed weights bring pork production down for the second quarter of 2023

Published 2023년 6월 21일

Tridge summary

Q2 2023 U.S. pork production is estimated at 6.635 billion pounds, with a slight decrease in dressed weights leading to lower production levels. Hog slaughter in May was slightly higher than last year, but federally inspected pork production remained slightly below 2022 levels due to lower returns and an oversupply of slaughter-ready hogs. Belly prices and stocks are unusually low, impacting cutout values. Commercial pork production is expected to increase slightly from 2022. The implementation of Proposition 12 is creating uncertainty for the U.S. pork sector. U.S. pork exports, primarily to Mexico, are up over 7% from 2022, with the European Union expected to drive exports for the rest of 2023 and into 2024 due to high production costs.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

U.S. pork production for Q2 2023 has been modified by 5 million pounds, down to 6.635 billion pounds. Federally inspected hog slaughter in May was estimated around 10.5 million head, 0.7% higher than the year prior, after accounting for the additional slaughter day this year. However, after the adjustment, FI pork production was calculated around 2.3 billion pounds, still slightly lower than 2022 production levels. According to the USDA Economic Research Service's Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook for June 2023, the contributing variable for these figures was FI dressed weights, with May 2023 weights averaging about 215 pounds per head, down nearly 3 pounds from the year prior. "Producers likely sold hogs at lower weights in May due to lower returns from higher production costs and persistently larger-than-expected availability of slaughter-ready hogs that pressured hog prices," states USDA ERS Agricultural Economist Mildred Haley. "Prices in May for live equivalent 51-52% ...

Source: NationalHogFarmer