‘Too Many Hogs’ Send Prices to Seven-Year Lows

Hog futures plumbed fresh seven-year-lows last week after the USDA report on hogs and pigs showed the nation’s hog herd at about 70.9 million head on September 1. This is the highest level seen since the launch of the report in 1988.

“Hog futures were the worst investment in commodities last quarter and in the past year,” said John Clemmow at Barclays. “That’s because there are simply too many pigs,” he said, adding that “they’re so numerous these days that slaughterhouses will have to add shifts and operate on Saturdays in November and December to process them all into food.”

And the huge supplies are meeting only tepid demand.

“China, which more than doubled U.S. pork purchases in the first half of the year, has now put the brakes on buying,” Clemmow said.

Source: Agrimoney