China is in its holiday season; first was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, on 22 December. Next is the Lunar New Year which begins on 10 February. Both traditionally mark seasonal demand for pork. We know that last year, after extended COVID lockdowns through 2022, the 2023 Lunar New year demand was disappointing compared to what was expected. Consumers were focused on saving money or were staying home still sick with COVID. The next 30-45 days will be interesting to watch to see if holiday pork demand grows. So far, the situation has been bearish. Pork prices ended 2023 at about ¥24.60/kg, which is a 25.5 percent drop for the year. The official November CPI for pork shows a drop of 31.8 percent. The Chinese gov...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
Key Takeaways: On Friday afternoon, President Trump announced that Russia will “immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel” to the United States. The deal, typical of this administration, is light on details but promises an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 m...
The USDA has lowered its 2026 red meat production forecasts slightly while forecasting a slight increase in broiler production. Beef is now projected at 24.802 billion pounds, 75 million pounds less than in September. Cow slaughter is expected to be up; however, this will be offset by lower ste...
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