LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
May 22 2020 - 6:03PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
New Reports of African Swine Fever Surface in India -- Market
Talk
12:01 ET - Cases of African swine fever have been accumulating
in India, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.
The OIE says 3,700 hogs have died this year due to the disease,
with the outbreaks centralized in the portion of India that shares
a border with China and Myanmar. Production of hogs in India is
limited but growing, says the National Pork Producers Council. The
nation doesn't currently purchase US pork exports, but does
outsource most of its pork needs from other countries. July hog
futures on the CME fall 1.8%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com;
@kirkmaltais)
Virus Threatens a Minnesota Farm Town's Economic Engine --
Update
WORTHINGTON, Minn. -- Miguel Rivas emigrated from El Salvador to
this ethnic melting pot in the middle of farm country 21 years ago,
starting out at a meatpacking plant and a dairy farm, while
studying computers online. He eventually opened a computer repair
shop and cellphone store.
As the coronavirus hit this spring, business stayed fairly
brisk, he said, until the hulking JBS USA Holdings meatpacking
plant on the edge of town shut down April 20 amid a massive
outbreak of Covid-19. Mr. Rivas's business fell off by 90%.
"One day everybody was walking in with face masks," said Mr.
Rivas, 39 years old. "They said, 'This is very serious. There are
people that are very sick at home.'" Then they stopped coming
altogether.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Bunge Loses Shareholder Vote on Exec Pay -- Market Talk
09:29 ET - Bunge Ltd.'s board of directors and management lost
an advisory vote on executive compensation, the company says, after
replacing in 2019 much of its senior management. Bunge's new CEO
Greg Heckman, who took over in early 2019, received total
compensation of $16.7M, including a $1M signing bonus and about
$11.5M in stock and option awards. That topped the annual pay of
his predecessor Soren Schroder, who exited after investor pressure
brought new directors to Bunge's board. Bunge lost $1.3B in 2019,
partly due to upheaval from the US-China trade war, versus a $267M
profit in 2018. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Rising Food Costs Push Mexican Inflation Higher in Early May
MEXICO CITY -- Mexican consumer prices increased more than
expected in the first half of May, with food costs up sharply as
the country entered its second full month of social-distancing
measures and shutdowns to confront the spread of the new
coronavirus.
The consumer price index rose 0.30% from the end of April and
was up 2.83% from a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute
said Friday. Core CPI, which excludes energy and agricultural
produce, increased 0.24% in the first half of this month for an
annual rise of 3.76%.
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Falls as Cattle on Feed Report Shows Big Drops --
Market Talk
15:25 ET - Livestock futures finished trading lower, with August
live-cattle futures down 0.9% at 97.325 cents a pound, while July
lean-hog futures finished down 2.2% at 55.9c. The USDA issued its
monthly Cattle on Feed report following the market's close, which
showed a 22% decline in feedlot placements for the month of April
versus last year, as well as a 24% decline in cattle marketed. This
report comes as meatpackers restarted some operations in May, which
has placed pressure on cutout prices for both beef and pork.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - May 22
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
May 22 +$115.37 +$ 73.15
May 21 +$114.66 +$ 75.69
May 20 +$122.57 +$ 79.99
* 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 179.7
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 181.2
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell $5.07 per hundred
pounds, to $396.74, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell
$8.35 per hundred pounds, to $374.18. The total load count was 101.
Wholesale pork prices fell $1.18, to $95.76 a hundred pounds, based
on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 22, 2020 17:48 ET (21:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.