World meat industry news

The quarterly report on hogs and pigs released by the US Department of Agriculture shows that the inventory of swine totalled 72.9 million head, up 3% from the number registered in the first quarter of 2017.
66.7 million of the hogs and pigs were market ready, a gain of 3 percent over 2017, but down 1 percent from the last quarter, according to the statistics kept by USDA. Iowa reported the largest inventory of hogs and pigs among the states (22.6 million head). North Carolina and Minnesota followed with the second and third largest inventories with 8.90 million and 8.50 million head, respectively. 
Analysts from Rabo AgriFinance believed that lower prices for feed during the quarter and the addition of four new pork processing plants likely encouraged producers to add more pigs to their herds. At the same time, prices for pork remain above breakeven, and that packer competition for hogs is driving stronger-than-expected lean hog prices, mentioned Rabo AgriFinance in its February report.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) mentioned an increase of pigs weaned between December 2017 and February 2018 by 4% compared to the same period a year ago. The breeding inventory has reached 6.20 million head, up by 2%, according to the NASS data.