Good year ahead for pig and poultry industries, claims Gira
Richard Brown, director with Gira, told the World Meat Congress that the forthcoming year was looking far more positive than in 2013, with feed costs lower, meat prices at a good rate and global meat consumption growing at around 1.5%.
Speaking in Beijing, he said that disease was proving to be a problem, with African Swine Fever (ASF) closing markets within Europe, and PEDv causing problems for production within North America.
"The multiple infections in breeding herds and piglets is going to lead to a serious shortage in next few months and has already driven the US to very high prices. It’s going to make the hog market much more volatile next year."
Meat trade volumes have increased globally by around 2% in a year, and the real price of meat in local currency has risen steadily since 2006 around the world, with a big influence on that being China.
He said the problems caused by disease would prove a boon for Brazilian companies, and added it was likely to be a "good year for Brazilian pig exports", although at the moment poultry continued to dominate the country’s export scene.
For those looking to Russia as a major market, Brown had less favourable news: "The Russian market is declining, as its government puts more emphasis on its own meat and domestic production, it’s a key strategic objective for them."
