Market Morsel: US Processors and Covid-19

Livestock | 7th August 2020 | By Matt Dalgleish

Market Morsel

In April 2020 Covid-19 infections impacted beef and pork processors in the USA. This was quite widespread and impacted processing capacity across the country. Reports of production falling by 30-35% despite the order by President Trump that processors were to remain open.

Impact on prices:

  • Finished cattle prices eased by an average of 20% over April
  • The beef cut out price rallied by 100% as shortages of product and panic buying of meat set in
  • Pig prices dropped by an average of 50% from April to June
  • Many pigs were culled and not sent to processors due to the significant backlog of animals

It took about a month for the price situation to return to normal.

Tags

  • Beef
  • Cattle
  • Processing
  • USA