With Easter retail orders mostly complete, the pork cutout, especially hams, is under pressure. From the beginning of March, the ham primal has dropped 16 percent; the only other cut with a bigger drop is the belly.  Through last week, hog slaughter was up 1.6 percent over the same 10 week period in 2022, but pork production was up only 0.9 percent due to lighter slaughter weights. This would suggest softer demand is an issue for pork given the drop in cutout values. Hams in cold storage at the end of February were 101 percent of last year, and 108 percent of the end of January, i.e., the previous month. Bone-in hams were 105 percent of last year and 135 percent of the previous month. Bellies in cold storage at the end of Februar...

TAGS – Livestock, China, North America, South America