Pig ?Ebola? Virus Sends Shock Waves Through Global Food Chain
By Dan Murtaugh and Enda Curran
May 2, 2019, 4:01 PM CDT Updated on May 2, 2019, 10:53 PM CDT
What started with a few dozen dead pigs in northeastern China is sending shock waves through the global food chain.
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While official estimates count 1 million culled hogs, slaughter data suggest 100 times more will be removed from China?s 440 million-strong swine herd in 2019, the Chinese zodiac?s ?year of the pig.? The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast in April a decline of 134 million head -- equivalent to the entire annual output of American pigs -- and the worst slump since the department began counting China?s pigs in the mid 1970s.
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China?s hog herd may decline as much as 30 percent, said Juan R. Luciano, chief executive officer of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., one of the biggest agricultural commodity traders.
?China will clearly need to import substantial amounts of pork and likely other meat and poultry to satisfy demand,? Luciano told analysts on an April 26 conference call. Chinese meat purchases may also boost sales of soybean meal, a source of livestock feed, in North America, Brazil, and Europe, he said.
Wholesale pork prices in China are already 21 percent higher than a year ago, and have risen in the U.S. and EU after processors sent more of their product to China. The price of bacon in Spain jumped about 20 percent during March, while pork shoulders climbed 17 percent in Germany, according to Interporc, a Madrid-based industry group.
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African swine fever in China shows that ?animal and human disease surveillance systems are not working as well as they should,? she said. ?This should concern everyone given that the potential economic impact of large-scale outbreaks is huge.?
...
By Dan Murtaugh and Enda Curran
May 2, 2019, 4:01 PM CDT Updated on May 2, 2019, 10:53 PM CDT
What started with a few dozen dead pigs in northeastern China is sending shock waves through the global food chain.
...
While official estimates count 1 million culled hogs, slaughter data suggest 100 times more will be removed from China?s 440 million-strong swine herd in 2019, the Chinese zodiac?s ?year of the pig.? The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast in April a decline of 134 million head -- equivalent to the entire annual output of American pigs -- and the worst slump since the department began counting China?s pigs in the mid 1970s.
...
China?s hog herd may decline as much as 30 percent, said Juan R. Luciano, chief executive officer of Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., one of the biggest agricultural commodity traders.
?China will clearly need to import substantial amounts of pork and likely other meat and poultry to satisfy demand,? Luciano told analysts on an April 26 conference call. Chinese meat purchases may also boost sales of soybean meal, a source of livestock feed, in North America, Brazil, and Europe, he said.
Wholesale pork prices in China are already 21 percent higher than a year ago, and have risen in the U.S. and EU after processors sent more of their product to China. The price of bacon in Spain jumped about 20 percent during March, while pork shoulders climbed 17 percent in Germany, according to Interporc, a Madrid-based industry group.
...
African swine fever in China shows that ?animal and human disease surveillance systems are not working as well as they should,? she said. ?This should concern everyone given that the potential economic impact of large-scale outbreaks is huge.?
...
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