Ron Plain

Pork exports for August 2006 were up 8.8% from a year earlier. Exports to Japan in August were up 5.7%, the second month this year for an increase.

For January-August pork exports were up 12% from 12 months earlier. For the first eight months, pork exports to Japan were down 8.4%, to Canada up 5.6%. to Mexico up 21.1%, to Russia up 133.6%, to South Korea up 54.4%, to mainland China and Hong Kong up 7.8%, to Taiwan up 12.1%, to Caribbean up 95.5% and to other up 5.7%.

Our pork exports for January-August amounted to 14.4% of U.S. pork production. In the first eight months of 2006, the U.S. net pork exports amounted to 9.56% of production, up 1.39% of production from the same months of 2005. Live hog imports from Canada in August were up 6.2% from a year earlier. Feeder pig imports for this month were up 17.5% and slaughter hog imports were down 14.3% from 12 months earlier.

For January-August live hog imports were up 8.9% from the same months of 2005. Feeder pig imports were up 13.6% and slaughter hog imports were down 1% for the first eight months of this year compared to last year. Live hog weights in Iowa-Minnesota this week were 0.1 pound heavier than a week earlier and down 0.1 pound from a year earlier.

Retail pork prices in September were up 1.1% from August, but down 2% from September of 2005. Retail pork prices for January-September were down 1.2% from the same months last year. Hog marketing margins were up 1.6% for January-September with the processor-retailer margin up 1% and the packer's margin up 4.1% from 12 months earlier.

Live hog prices for September were up 0.6% from a year earlier. However, live hog prices for January-September were down 7.5% from a year earlier. The consumer of pork and marketers benefited from the lower live hog prices. Live hog prices this Friday morning were steady to $2 per cwt lower compared to a week earlier. Weighted average negotiated carcass prices Friday morning were $2.43 to $3.81 per cwt lower compared to 7 days earlier.

The top live hog prices for select markets this Friday morning were: Peoria $42.00 per cwt, St. Paul $41.00 per cwt, Sioux Falls was unavailable and interior Missouri $43.50 per cwt.

The weighted average negotiated carcass prices for Friday morning by market area were: western Cornbelt $60.09 per cwt, eastern Cornbelt $59.99 per cwt, Iowa-Minnesota $60.60 per cwt and nation $60.05 per cwt.

Pork product prices Thursday afternoon this week at $65.63 per cwt were down $3.93 per cwt from a week earlier. Loins at $79.26 per cwt, down $1.03 per cwt, Boston butts down $6.18 per cwt at $69.84 per cwt, hams at $63.19 per cwt, down $10.44 per cwt and bellies down $1.39 per cwt at $75.64 per cwt.

Slaughter this week under Federal Inspection was estimated at 2213 thousand head, up 1.0% from a year earlier.

ThePigSite News Desk