News
Pork in cold storage near all-time monthly high
The USDA says the amount of pork in cold storage at the end of January was nearly a monthly record. The domestic supply was 625.188 million pounds, up 11% on the year and just short of the all-time high set in January 2016. Pork production has been at or near record levels for more than a year because of the available market ready numbers and demand, especially export demand, hasn’t kept pace with the speed of production. Beef stocks were 489.136 million pounds, down 4% from the year before. The red meat total was 1.158 billion pounds and up 3% on the year.
A record amount of chicken in cold storage at the end of January pushed the poultry total to a monthly high. Chicken was reported at 957.492 million pounds, up 12% on the year, with demand not meeting production, replacing the previous monthly record set in 2006. The chicken total included monthly highs for breasts & breast meat, drumsticks, and thigh meat. Turkey stocks came out 301.782 million pounds, a drop of 23%. The total for poultry was 1.262 billion pounds, slightly more than the previous record set in January 2018.
The USDA’s official 2019 cold storage totals are out on the 28th.
