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Concerns linger as record pork supply grows

Daily hog slaughter runs keep inching higher and hitting record totals almost daily.  And thanks to the expanded slaughter capacity – University of Missouri’s livestock economist Scott Brown says there’s enough shackle space to meet the industry’s needs.

But, he says, there are some concerns.  “I’m worried about where we might run into some capacity constraints,” he says.  “I don’t think it’s going to be the same as in the past – I worry about having the labor to push those plants to handle the hogs that come online.”

He tells Brownfield it wouldn’t come as a surprise if companies start exporting whole and half carcasses to China.  “I certainly think that increases their chain speed just a little bit,” he says. 

Brown says that could help offset the extremely large hog supplies here in the US and also benefit processors in China.  “Having the opportunity to see half and whole carcasses coming into China gives those processors a chance for cutting those carcasses further and keeping them busy,” he says. 

Recently Smithfield and Tyson both announced they would stop the use of the growth promotant ractopamine, a move that Brown says is an indication that more US pork could soon be headed to China.

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