The US pig inventory is showing further decline according to the Whole Hog's report on the latest US hog and pig census.

The inventory in September was estimated at 66.6 million head down by two per cent year on year despite being one per cent up on the previous quarter.

The breeding herd is also three per cent down from September last year at 5.87 million head.

At the end of July, exports of US pig meat and pork variety meat cuts fell by 9.9 per cent compared to the same time a year previously.

According to the Whole Hog, exports stood at 1,033,026 tonnes. However, this figure was still 55.1 per cent higher than in 2007.

During July, the US exported 146,748 tonnes of pork and variety meat cuts.

Similarly, the Whole Hog reports that Canadian pig meat exports from January to July fell by 4.7 per cent year on year to 605,312 tonnes.

The main fall was in the Russian and Asian markets.

Total Canadian live hog exports to the USA for the year to 19 September were 4,530,982 head, which is 33.6 per cent lower than in the same period a year ago.

Euro-zone Pig Prices Continue to Fall

Pig producer prices in the EU Euro zone are continuing to fall the Whole Hog says.

While German and Spanish prices are above the EU average, nearly all the other countries are showing prices below average with the Danish industry reporting the price down to €130.8 – an 11.4 per cent decrease on September last year.

The Whole Hog's global price index reports that prices in the three major exporters have all fallen back.

The Whole Hog says that the week to week price patterns are similar to the horror story in 2002 but despite the gloomy picture and although no prediction can be made about when prices will turn, it is not a time to be completely pessimistic.

Danish Meat Exports Down but Live Pig Exports Up

In the first six months of the year Denmark saw a 12 per cent drop in exports of pig meat – down to 793,303 tonnes.

The fall in exports was mainly due to a 16.7 per cent fall in sales of pork cuts.

The Whole Hog reports that the latest figures from the Polish Statistical Office (GUS) show a slight revival in the breeding herd numbers.

There were 1.37 million sows for breeding in July up by half a per cent year on year.

Total pig numbers in July fell by 7.4 per cent to 14.27 million.

JSR's 20th Technical Conference Packs Them In

Pig breeding company JSR hosted its 20th Technical Conference at the Sutton Bonington Campus of Nottingham University, in the UK, with overseas speakers from Canada and the Netherlands and a UK celebrity chef in front of 150 farmers and technical personnel in September.

The Whole Hog reports that the theme of the presentation by Dr Grant Walling, JSR's Research Director, was the importance of science in making decisions about issues like animal welfare, boar taint, low-cost feed profitability and he provided several examples of JSR's research in these areas.

Other areas discussed at the conference included JSR's newest boar line, the JSR Geneconverter 700.