Hog and pork prices are expected to launch to record highs in 2011 due to a combination of high demand, high feed costs, and a smaller herd.
“Foreign buyers are expected to elevate pork exports by 10 percent,” said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University Extension economist. “Pork exports are expected to represent a record 21 percent of domestic production. The combination of modestly lower production and higher exports means that the available supply per person in the United States will drop by nearly 3 percent in 2011. This will be the foundation for record retail pork prices as there will be less pork available at a time when U.S. consumers economic conditions are improving.”
Live hog prices in 2011 are expected to exceed $60 per live hundredweight, or more than $80 on a lean basis. “The stimulus will come from smaller per capita U.S. supplies, from much stronger demand driven by recovering U.S. and world economies, and by the inflationary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve,” Hurt said.
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