LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
June 18 2021 - 5:24PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Pork Producers Want Plant Products Off Their Turf -- Market Talk
16:10 ET - After plant-based meat alternatives found a foothold
in the burger world, pork producers are looking to defend their
supermarket territory against imitations. The Pork Checkoff, a
group funded by hog farmers, says plant-based products should be
stocked alongside processed meats -- not fresh, shrink-wrapped
chops and ground meat -- and that since plant-based shoppers also
tend purchase chicken and turkey, alternatives should be shelved
near poultry, and not pork. "Plant-based and pork don't mix," the
group says, basing its recommendations on research it commissioned.
(jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Kerry Sells U.K., Irish Consumer Foods' Meats and Meals Business to Pilgrim's Pride
Kerry Group PLC said late Thursday that it is selling its
consumer foods' meats and meals business in the U.K. and Ireland to
Pilgrim's Pride Corp. for 819 million euros ($975.1 million). The
Ireland-based food company -- which houses Dairygold butter,
Charleville cheese and Richmond sausages among its brands -- said
it will use the money raised from the sale for general corporate
purposes and the continued strategic development of the
taste-and-nutrition business.
Red Robin Expands Partnership With Donatos Pizza
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. said it is expanding its Donatos
Pizza partnership into key territories for the brand. Ohio-based
Donatos Pizza partnered with Red Robin in June 2018, offering its
pizzas as part of Red Robin's menu. After success in early launch
markets, the two chains will be adding more locations this year as
part of a market expansion plan, Red Robin said.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Commodities Selloff Expected to Linger in 2021 -- Market Talk
10:28 ET - The big selloff seen in commodities across the board
yesterday is "a sign of things to come," Capital Economics says.
"The scale of this week's fall in commodity prices is ...
consistent with our assessment that much of the rally over the last
year or so has been led by investor speculation as opposed to a
genuine improvement in the underlying fundamentals," the firm says.
Slowdowns in China's economy are expected to further affect metals
prices, while in agriculture, favorable weather in the US supports
stronger-than-expected crop production. "We think that higher US
production and subdued global consumption growth will help to tip
the global market into a surplus in 2021/22," the firm says.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
Danone's Vega Disposal Seen as Positive for Bonds -- Market Talk
0831 GMT - Danone's announced sale of North American protein and
nutrition brand Vega for an undisclosed sum to private equity firm
WM Partners is a positive for the French food company's bonds, says
ING. "The transaction is in line with Danone's portfolio
rationalization," says ING's Alyssa Gammoudy. Vega was founded in
2004 by Charles Chang and Brendan Brazier and sold to Whitewave in
2015 for $550 million. Whitewave was later acquired by Danone, she
says. There "are no terms or timeline disclosed" but "we see this
transaction as a positive for the company's credit curve," she
says. (lorena.ruibal@wsj.com)
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures Extend Decline -- Market Talk
15:43 ET - Lean-hog futures closed lower again, falling 2.1% to
$1.08675 a pound. That makes it roughly 15 cents a pound that hog
futures have declined in the past 10 days. A large part of the
decline seen in hogs is being attributed to selling by managed
money funds. "Funds were big-time long," says Craig VanDyke of Top
Third Ag Marketing, adding that the 3-cent limit for hogs trading
is extending the amount of time it takes fund traders to exit their
long positions in hogs. Live-cattle futures finished up 0.4% to
$1.2155. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 18
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations.
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Jun 18 -$ 37.39 +$103.16
Jun 17 -$ 22.25 +$112.53
Jun 16 -$ 38.16 +$102.96
* 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 148.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 136.3
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell $2.97 per hundred
pounds, to $323.28, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell
$3.63 per hundred pounds, to $283.61. The total load count was 87.
Wholesale pork prices fell $4.36, to $119.05 a hundred pounds,
based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2021 17:13 ET (21:13 GMT)
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