Special Report
Meyer: Hog demand/prices up, costs down
Hog production costs are expected to go down with prices for pork remaining high this year amid PEDv losses, Steve Meyer told delegates at the recent National Pork Producers Council annual meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. Meyer, with Paragon Economics, says demand should remain high, “’Prices will destroy demand’, my favorite BAD saying. Prices of an own good do not destroy demand for that good. All they do is reflect the fact that there’s not enough product out there for people to buy as much as they want to buy, okay, and that’s going to be the case in this case.”
Are high costs behind pork producers? Meyer says ‘yes’ if it’s a normal crop year, “The reason is, we finally caught up with ethanol which is not going up this year. As a matter of fact it’ll be pretty much level with the last two years and yields and acres have caught up with that. AND, world production of corn is almost 50% higher than it was in 2004.”
PEDv losses will continue but he says the March 28th report will be a better indicator than previous reports of the actual effects. Meyer expects hog prices to be $25 to $30 dollars better this year.
Add Comment