U.S. pork finds growth abroad while domestic demand drags

Welcome to another installment of Dr. Demand here at NHF’s weekly update!

I don’t think it is a mystery to anyone why I spend so much time talking about demand. It is obviously a critical factor and pork and hog pricing. In addition, my turn to write this column usually follows just after USDA has released monthly export data for two months past, thus providing an update on export demand as well as the last piece of information I need to estimate per capita disappearance in the United States, a key factor in measuring domestic consumer-level pork demand. 

Let’s begin this week with the good. June pork exports were strong, slightly smaller (5.5%) than in May but 9.9% larger than last year. That performance brings the year-to-date total to 3.451 billion pounds, carcass weight, 9.% more than last year. See Figures 1 and 2.