Pork Quarterly Q3 2019: Disease and Trade Issues are Jointly Changing the Global Market

Rising disease pressures are challenging the global market. Specifically, African swine fever (ASF) continues to threaten the global pork market, not only by causing a production drop in Asian countries, but also adding uncertainty to trade and production prospects in other parts of the world. While China’s pork prices have started to move higher, production responses in the rest of the world appear cautious. Other factors, including disease management and weather, are hindering production in Europe and Brazil. The resumption of Sino-US trade negotiations is a positive development, implying a chance for China to review tariffs on US pork imports.

China: Pig Herd Losses Growing

ASF continues to spread in China, with new cases mainly reported in South China. Live hog prices are finally...

U.S. Pork Industry Battling Challenges, NPPC President Tells Capitol Hill

The U.S. pork industry faces numerous challenges both at home and abroad that, if not addressed, will pose significant harm to our farms, rural communities and ultimately consumers, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President David Herring, a pork producer from Lillington, N.C., testified this morning before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.

“One of the most damaging threats to the U.S. pork industry has been the punitive, retaliatory trade tariffs that China and other countries have imposed,” Herring told the subcommittee.

China is the largest consumer and importer of pork in the world, but U.S. hog farmers have been sidelined, Herring told the subcommittee, due to China’s...

Phibro Animal Health Corporation Announces a Significant Advance in the Development of ASF Vaccine

Phibro Animal Health Corporation (NASDAQ:PAHC) today announced it is pursuing patent protection following a significant advance in the on-going development of a vaccine for African Swine Fever (ASF). This important step in the vaccine development process involves the identification of immunogenic epitopes and proteins that show strong potential to form the basis for a vaccine against ASF.

Phibro’s R&D team and its collaborators made this identification through the use of a unique bioinformatics analysis tool in order to select...

REPORTER: Pork: Turbulence Driven by African Swine Fever 

 

REPORTER: Exports Are Vital to U.S. Pork Industry

Without growth in export sales in recent years, the U.S. pork industry would have had far less room for expansion. Maintaining the customer base we have now and stretching international sales even further are vital to any future growth for the U.S. pork industry...

U.S. Pork Producers Seek Main Course, Not Crumbs

Expanding U.S. export markets is vital to the success of American pork producers, but trade disputes with some of our top markets, most notably China, are hampering growth and have caused severe financial harm to U.S. hog farmers, National Pork Producers Council Vice President and Counsel of Global Government Affairs Nick Giordano said today at a Global Business Dialogue event in Washington, D.C.

“Mostly because of free trade agreements, the United States is the leading global exporter of pork. As a result, U.S. pork is an attractive candidate for trade retaliation. America’s hog farmers – and many other sectors of U.S. agriculture...

African Swine Fever Affects China's Pork Consumption

China’s pork consumption has dropped by 10% to 15%, year-to-date, by our estimates, driven by food safety concerns. The level of consumption change varies greatly between the different distribution channels. Looking forward, and reflecting on the current situation and trends, it is quite possible we have seen the ‘peak’ of pork consumption.

Pork Consumption in China has Dropped by 10% to 15%

The losses in China’s pig herd are very difficult to estimate – estimated losses range from 20% to 70%. Data from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) has the sow herd down by 22% in the year to April – this is one of the most optimistic estimates we have seen. However, hog and pork prices struggled in April and May, after a brief surge in March, raising significant questions...

Algenex and Global DX Agree to Develop Diagnostic Products for the Detection of African Swine Fever

Algenex SL, a private biotechnology company delivering disruptive technologies for recombinant biologics production, and Global DX Ltd, a company dedicated to improving the quality of animal care by facilitating accurate diagnosis for veterinarians worldwide, today announce that they have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and commercialize diagnostic products for the detection of African Swine Fever. The first product to be developed will be a point-of-care rapid diagnostic test to identify pigs who have been exposed to the African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV). The agreement is the first collaboration between the two companies and provides the framework for further co-developments across a potentially wide range of diagnostic areas.

Under the terms of the agreement, Algenex will deliver the diagnostic reagents and Global DX will provide the technical expertise to develop and manufacture the point-of-care rapid diagnostic tests. Both companies will collaborate in the distribution of...

ANALYSIS: ASF Update; Changing Global Protein Flows

At the time of this report, African Swine Fever continues to spread generally unchecked through China and has more recently expanded to the neighboring nations of Hong Kong, Vietnam and Cambodia, in addition to the revelation that North Korea has been dealing with it since at least February. The lastest official numbers from China admit a 20.8% drop in the April hog herd vs last year and sow losses of 22.3% year over year. As China is notoriously selective with the amount and accuracy of data that they provide the world, this situation could be...

China Says Making Progress on African Swine Fever Vaccine

China will start work on clinical trials of an African swine fever vaccine, state media said on Friday, as the disease continues to spread through the world’s biggest hog herd.

State-owned Harbin Veterinary Research Institute has found two vaccine candidates, proven in laboratory tests to offer immunity to the disease, China National Radio said in a post on China’s microblogging site Weibo.

“In the next step, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences will accelerate the progress of pilot and clinical trials, as well as vaccine production,” said the report...

Canada, US Agree on Safe Trade Zones in Event of African Swine Fever Outbreak

Restaurant Food Costs: What does ASF Mean for Protein Prices in the US?

Rabobank expects food costs in the US to increase in the second half of the year, as protein prices are impacted by stronger export demand following the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak. Pork and chicken prices will be the most impacted. Beef will be the last to see increases materialize, but QSR patty prices are expected to be the most vulnerable component. If a trade agreement with China were to be brokered, price increases would be faster and steeper.

Restaurants Should Expect Rising Protein Prices

For the past two years, restaurants have been favored by a relatively benign food cost environment, which helped compensate for rising costs in other areas (labor, real estate). We expect this situation to change (for proteins) towards the second half of the year and...

USDA Enhances African Swine Fever Surveillance Efforts

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is furthering its overall African Swine Fever (ASF) preparedness efforts with the implementation of a surveillance plan. As part of this plan, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will work with the swine industry, the states, and veterinary diagnostic laboratories to test for ASF.

ASF is a highly contagious and deadly disease affecting both domestic and feral (wild) pigs. It does not affect human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. ASF has never been detected in the United States...

More Wild Boars Detected in Belgium with African Swine Fever in April and May

According to the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE), Belgium reported 18 cases of individual wild boar inflicted with African Swine Fever between April 16^th and May 10^th 2019. All cases were reported and resolved, meaning the affected animals were culled, on the same day. These were the first reported ASF cases in Belgium since September 2018. Belgium continues to be the Western-most European nation afflicted with ASF.

Nestled between France and Germany, these outbreaks present a very real concern for the...

Research on Viral Transmission in Feedstuffs Yields New Information

With research confirming that swine viruses can be transmitted through feed and feedstuffs, new studies are looking at how to prevent the spread of foreign animal diseases, such as African swine fever (ASF), via these vehicles. Based on new research, the Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), the National Pork Board, the National Pork Producers Council and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians have revised the information for feed holding times.

The Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), the public charity of the American Feed Industry Association, helped fund the research that resulted in the updated information that provide the best and most current understanding of viral survivability in feedstuffs and details for mitigating risk to domestic herds...

Tyson says Hog Disease Impact to Linger for Years

Global meat prices are poised to rise after China culled tens of millions of hogs to contain a fast-spreading swine disease, the chief executive of Tyson Foods Inc. said.

The top U.S. meat processing company already is paying higher prices for U.S. hogs and other meat as Chinese buyers crank up purchases, Tyson executives said Monday. In the months ahead, Tyson anticipates higher meat costs for consumers, as well as stronger profits in its own pork, beef and chicken-processing operations.

Noel White, CEO of the Arkansas-based company, said the potential impact of the past year's African swine fever outbreaks was unprecedented, and could lower global meat supplies by 5% at a time when protein consumption is on the rise world-wide...