Weekly livestock news: April 6, 2020

World Pork Expo canceled for second year in a row

The National Pork Producers Council announced its board of directors has decided to cancel the 2020 World Pork Expo in June due to COVID-19 human health concerns. This is the second year in a row the expo has been canceled; concerns over African swine fever caused the cancellation of last year’s event. “While deeply disappointed to cancel this year’s expo, NPPC’s board of directors unanimously agreed it was prudent to make this decision now,” said NPPC president Howard “A.V.” Roth. “By eliminating COVID-19-related uncertainty surrounding the event, we allow producers and others across the industry to focus on the essential role we play in the nation’s food supply system at this critical time.” The 2021 expo is scheduled for next June at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

China’s ports brace for second hit as virus spread wipes out exports

China’s ports and shipping firms are bracing for a second wave of supply chain disruptions that could be deeper and more prolonged than during the country’s coronavirus lockdown, Reuters reports. The virus is spreading around the world, cutting off international demand. “We expect the near-term impact on trade growth in coming quarters likely to be the worst ever, as economies stall and external demand faces imminent collapse on large scale quarantine measures across major economies,” said Rahul Kappor, vice president at HIS Markit. China’s container processing volumes fell 10.6% in the first two months of the year, while exports decreased 17.2%. Volumes rebounded in March as operations restarted, but exporters worry outbound shipments may see an even worse decline going forward.

U.S. farmers plan huge corn crop despite price drop, ethanol collapse

U.S. farmers plan to plant their biggest corn acreage in eight years this spring, saying it’s the best choice in a tough farm economy despite weak demand from the biofuel industry with the coronavirus spread, Reuters reports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its annual prospective plantings report forecast corn plantings of 96.990 million acres. The report is based on a survey of about 80,000 farmers taken during the first two weeks of March. While the survey was taken just before the effects of the coronavirus pushed corn futures to 3 ½-year lows due to demand destruction in the ethanol sector, growers said they don’t intend to change their plans.

Meat sales continue to surge with COVID-19

New data shows that meat sales rose 91% for the week ending March 22 and were up 13% from the week ending March 15, Supermarket Perimeter reports. The data comes from 210 Analytics and IRi. The sales spike reflects a rise in consumer anxiety: Fifty-eight percent of consumers said they were extremely concerned about COVID-19, up from 38% the week prior. Fresh turkey sales were up 126%, exotic meats like duck and bison up 123%, and pork was up 101%, all more than double sales versus the comparable week last year.

Ag companies launch Covantis to create digital trade platform

Several major agricultural companies, including ADM, Bunge, Cargill and others, have formed Covantis, a technology company that aims to modernize global trade. The company has received all required regulatory approvals and has incorporated as a legal entity in Geneva, Switzerland, according to Feedstuffs. It will be led by Petya Sechanova, who has worked as trade operations leader at Cargill. “We’re excited to create Covantis as a company,” Sechanova said. “This paves the way toward launching the first release of our industry-changing digital solution, focusing initially on grains and oilseeds post-trade execution processes.” Sechanova added that Covantis plans to launch its digital platform this year. It uses blockchain, a secure technology that records transactions.

Dean Foods announces Dairy Farmers of America as winning bidder in bankruptcy sale

Dean Foods announced that Dairy Farmers of America has been named the winning bidder to acquire a substantial portion of Dean’s business operations. Pursuant to the agreement, which is subject to final approval by the bankruptcy court, DFA will acquire the assets, rights, interests and properties relating to 44 of the company’s fluid and frozen facilities for $433 million. Dean has also designated Prairie Farms Dairy as the winner of the assets, rights, interests and properties relating to eight additional facilities, two distribution branches and other assets for $75 million. Mana Saves McArthur, Producers Dairy Foods and Harmoni will take other assets.