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The Meat Price Index of the Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO), which continued to rise moderately since February 2019, gained 30 points (19 percent) from January to November, but stood 21.5 points (10.1 percent) below the peak reached in August 2014. International quotations for all categories of meat represented in the index rose in 2019, with the highest percentage increase for pig meat (+22.7 percent), followed by bovine meat (+22.0 percent), ovine meat (+19.8 percent) and poultry meat (+9.0 percent).
Pork
The index for pig meat gained 26.7 points (22.7 percent) from January to November. However, the index value is still 40.5 points (22.0 percent) below the peak reached in August 2014. In 2019, the index rose rapidly from April to June, mainly driven by a surge in import demand from Asia, principally China, caused by a sharp fall in the country’s pig meat production, associated with the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF).
Despite a 16 percent expansion in pig meat exports from the European Union, the largest exporter, it was not large enough to contain the price pressure given the magnitude of the production fall in Asia. Meanwhile, pig meat exports from the United States of America, the second largest exporter, declined by 2.3 percent during the same period, and those of Brazil expanded by 26 percent. In July, pig meat prices fell, as imports did not continue to expand as anticipated earlier. In China, pig meat imports expanded by 33.5 per cent on average per month between March and May, but since then declined by 0.5 percent per month. The non-expansion in imports led to an inventory build-up, weighing on international prices, especially for supplies from Brazil. Supplies from the United States of America also remained high. Since August,pig meat prices stabilized at an elevated level. Supplies in Europe began rising in September, mostly on a seasonal increase in slaughter weight, while exports from the United States of America increased, especially with large orders from Mexico and China, providing support to price steadiness.
20 january 2020/ FAO.
http://www.fao.org
