Hog Outlook
Ron Plain and Scott Brown
University of Missouri
October 31, 2014
USDA’s Foreign Ag Service released 2015 projections for global meat production and trade a couple of weeks ago. Projections show an increase in world pork production of 1.1% next year, compared to a 1.4% decline for beef production and 1.5% growth for chicken. China and the European Union continue as the world’s top two pork producers, with the U.S. number three. Projected growth of 5.1% for the U.S. in 2015 trails only that of Russia (6.4%) among major producers. China and to a lesser extent Mexico and South Korea are expected to increase pork imports next year, while Brazil, the U.S. and the EU see the largest jump in projected exports.