TOP STORIES

China and Mexico Drive Big Pork Export Week -- Market Talk

08:56 ET - Net export sales of US pork rose to 292,200 metric tons in the week ending Oct. 10, driven primarily by purchases by Mexico and China, the USDA says. Mexico purchased 132,400 tons, while China bought 94,000 tons. Japan was also a big buyer, purchasing 46,400 tons. This data will likely be bullish for hog futures, as traders have been agitating for tangible results from the trade talks held in Washington last week. Both the US and China have promised increased agricultural export purchases by China following the talks. However, with the data ending Oct. 10, this week's report does not account for post-trade talk buying. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Vietnam a Viable Destination for Increased Protein Exports -- Market Talk

1019 ET - Vietnam will grow in importance as a destination for agricultural goods, says USDA's Ted McKinney, speaking during a trade mission in the nation. Particularly, McKinney expects protein purchases from the US to grow quickly in Vietnam, as preparations for the Lunar New Year are taking place while there's no end in sight for African swine fever's devastation of the country's pig herds. "It's tough to say if African swine fever is contained, I haven't seen any credible reports," says McKinney, who says that while buyers in the area are not in a state of panic over the disease, they do expect to have to buy more US protein. The Undersecretary estimates that Vietnam has lost 20% of its pig herd due to the disease. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Danone Investors Shouldn't Overreact to 3Q Results: Bernstein -- Market Talk

0909 GMT - Danone investors shouldn't overreact to the company's 3Q print, Bernstein analysts say. The food company met reported sales expectations, but its like-for-like sales growth disappointed, leading to a cut to the company's full-year guidance, Bernstein says. However, the brokerage says weather impact on the French company's waters division accounted for a large part of the disappointment, and notes that the new guidance still assumes a nice further speed-up of sales growth in 4Q. Given Danone shares' strong year-to-date performance, Bernstein isn't surprised by the stock's weakness today. At 0907 GMT, Danone was down 7.4% at EUR72.80. (cristina.roca@dowjones.com)

FSIS: Houston Company Recalls Canned Meat Due to Lack of Import Re-Inspection

A Houston company is recalling about 100 pounds of canned meat products that weren't presented for import re-inspection, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Global Zakii Enterprises is recalling items including Unium Luncheon Meat and Bishaway Extra Corned Beef.

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Finish Friday Lower -- Market Talk

15:23 ET - Livestock futures on the CME fall to finish the week, with live cattle down 0.7% to $1.13625 per pound and lean hogs dropping 0.3% to 67.95 cents per pound. For the week though, cattle futures finish 1% higher, while hogs are 3.7% lower. For hogs, there's speculation China may be rebuilding its hog herd with an aim for increased production in early 2020. "This seems optimistic as African swine fever is still spreading through parts of the country," says Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "China is importing hogs to try and build a herd though, which may help with the quicker rebound in production." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 18 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Oct 18       +$ 39.17            +$ 34.16 
Oct 17       +$ 29.26            +$ 32.50 
Oct 16       +$ 29.99            +$ 35.06 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice  105.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  100.4 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 7 cents per hundred pounds, to $218.04, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 44 cents per hundred pounds, to $193.04. The total load count was 97. Wholesale pork prices rose 77 cents, to $76.29 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2019 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

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