Whole Hog Brief Issue 191, December 2010

The Christmas 2010 edition of Whole Hog discusses the final figures for the Dutch pig census data – the breeding herd and farmer numbers have declined whilst market pig numbers are up.  Page 2 reports the published results and dividends for Danish Crown and Tican – profits and farmers’ bonuses are growing.  The Global Pig Price Cycle is discussed on page 3 – prices will move ahead if demand is there. On page 4 the latest comparative costs and KPI data from BPEX show that British pig producers have improved their performance but also that they can do much better. European pig prices move up for all countries on page 5. On page 6 Danish exports are seen to be making gains in 2010. The Polish pork export trade is also reviewed on that page. Canadian pork exports are described as “maintaining their momentum” on page 7 whereas US pork exports are stumbling along” on page 8. On page 9 a turnaround in the balance of trade in pigmeat is reported for Australia. All pigmeat suppliers to Japan see solid sales growth on page 10 whilst South Korean imports fall again - except for Chilean supplies. News in Short covers; record slaughtering numbers for pigs in Germany, FAO’s view of  livestock intensification and climate change, the Canadians fight against US COOL arrangements, Romanian imports of pigmeat, Cherkizovo’s interim results for Q1-Q3 2010, and Zhongpin’s outlook for the pork market in China.  More company information on the back page include Maple Leaf Foods’ sale of the processing operation in Burlington, Ontario to Sun Capital Inc., Tulip’s best ever results for 2009/10, and Hormel Foods earnings per share and sales results in 2010. The Global Price Monitor table of prices completes the back page.