Page 17 - Australian Pork Newspapaper

Philippines pork shortage
Weather drives new crop
“There’s not much interest from them in selling new crop.
FURTHER rallies in belt, but with 5-15mm of Sorghum X, which barley and wheat.”
the market are being seen as growers focus on planting rather than selling grain, while the new crop market has softened in the north and firmed in the south to reflect divergent weather.
forecast for next week, they look set to advance or finish planting.
caters for 10-20 percent sprouted grain, has been created by recent rain in southern Queensland and northern NSW.
With the east coast export task still in full flight, apparently trucks have not become any easier to book for do- mestic deliveries and road-freight rates con- tinue to firm.
In southern markets, grower interest in selling wheat and barley has been minimal for weeks because they have been tied up with fertilising, spraying and seeding.
The rain has set up growers in southern Queensland and northern NSW for an ideal and widespread planting of wheat and barley into a mostly full soil-moisture profile, and this has put pressure on new-crop values.
Mr Furse said feedlots were buying in modest amounts for June-July but were not looking at sorghum.
On the demand side, the poultry and pig sectors are buying sor- ghum with a degree of sprouting caused by re- cent rain.
While plenty of good- quality sorghum is now being harvested, its moisture is too high to allow delivery straight into export channels.
Delta Grain mar- keting general manager Mick Parry said several growers were reluctant to sell any more grain prior to June 30.
Dry in south
This is buoying hopes for a rally in barley and wheat prices at sites on the inland edge of the southern grainbelt.
“We have a number of growers who don’t want to sell in this financial year, wet weather has hampered deliveries, and road freight has become increasingly difficult to get because of the mas- sive export program.”
Victoria, South Aus- tralia and southwestern NSW are the dry parts of the Australian grain
Table 1: Indicative delivered prices in Australian dollars per tonne.
The problem is drying it down – growers can do it, but they’re busy trying to get their mung beans, sorghum and cotton off and plant wheat, barley and chickpeas.
With rain now on the forecast for Victoria, more movement of grain out of growers’ hands may be seen.
This will go into poultry and piggeries at maybe $220-$225 per tonne on farm.
“They’re saying, don’t mess with my mind while I’m getting this crop in the ground.”
However, dry condi- tions are of concern, and livestock in northwest Victoria is looking for ei- ther supplementary feed or agistment on greener pastures.
“Sorghum is too ex- pensive for a feedlot full stop.”
A significant amount
Nearby
New-crop January
Barley Downs
$300 up $3
$280 down $5
Wheat Downs
$332 up $7
$315 down $15
Robinson Grain trader Anthony Furse said, “If they’re harvesting sorghum, they’re keen to sell it and shift it, and they’re selling bits and pieces of old crop
Mr Parry said barley’s discount to wheat was narrowing, and the ex- port market for sorghum had it at a premium to even high-grade milling wheat.
Sorghum Downs
$320 steady
$285 March-April
Barley Melbourne
$280 up $5
$285 up $20
Wheat Melbourne
$340 steady
$335 up $5
“Barley is the go-to for the domestic feeder.”
THE Philippines hog herd had been decimated by African swine fever, putting pressure on pork prices within the country and increasing demand for imported beef.
beef as a superior meat worth paying a premium for.
the rising fear in many communities of con- suming infected meat are possible drivers toward al- ternatives like beef.
New government policy measures to encourage the importation of pork into the country stand to threaten what was a rap- idly growing market for Australian beef exports.
Among more affluent consumers, imported Aus- tralian beef is widely uti- lised in home cooking.
The number of house- holds with disposable in- come over $45,000 is ex- pected to double over the next four years, meaning that demand for high- quality beef is likely to expand substantially in the medium term regard- less of any contractions that may occur in the short term due to pork price corrections stemming from altered government trade policy.
ThePhilippineshasbeen struggling with outbreaks of ASF, with 37 of 81 provinces in the country severely impacted, causing constraints on pork supply.
In March and April 2021, the volume of Aus- tralian beef exported to the Philippines was 105 percent and 93 percent higher respectively, than the same months last year.
Official statistics in- dicate that the total hog herd has fallen by over 3 million or 24 percent from 2020 levels to 9.7 million head at the start of 2021.
High prices, retailers boycotting pork sales and
The commercial pig- gery industry has been the hardest hit, with numbers dropping 41 percent, com- pared to domestic back- yard pigs which fell by an estimated 13 percent.
However, unofficial in- dustry estimates are much more pessimistic, citing that widespread voluntary depopulation of pig farms and conversion to other enterprises could mean that total herd numbers have dropped over 36 per- cent.
The price of pork has risen to extreme levels of con- cern for the populace.
As the ASF crisis in the Philippines has intensified in 2021, imports of Aus- tralian beef accelerated rapidly.
As a result, the price of pork has risen to extreme levels of concern for the populace.
Live yeast for sows and piglets
Microscopic yeast,
macroscopic effects !
LEVUCELL SB is a probiotic live yeast speci cally selected for use in monogastrics. LEVUCELL SB has a huge scienti c background and proven results in farms demonstrating its capacity to support a balanced intestinal microbiota and improve performance of sows and piglets.
LEVUCELL SB TITAN bene ts from a patented technology of microencapsulation with a speci c coating process ensuring optimal protection of the live yeast cells during pelletisation.
LALLEMAND ANIMAL NUTRITION SPECIFIC FOR YOUR SUCCESS
T: (07) 5451 0125 | E: LAN-Aus@lallemand.com www.lallemandanimalnutrition.com
The Philippines govern- ment took emergency ac- tion in the form of tempo- rarily imposing a manda- tory price ceiling on pork for 60 days which ended in early April.
The price restrictions have been replaced by a suggested retail price of $7.16/kg for imported pork shoulder and $9.30/ kg for bellies.
In addition, tariffs on im- ported pork were slashed from 30 percent to 5 per- cent, and 15 percent down from 40 percent for out of quota quantities for the next three months, though the plan is to progressively raise tariffs back over the next 12 months.
The local department of agriculture has flagged that it intends to raise the current pork import quota from 54kt to 400kt to fur- ther suppress the price of pork within the country.
Such a large increase in the quota has been criti- cised by the industry as out of proportion to the size of the household hog herd’s production within the country and, if the proposal is enacted, has the potential to cause pork prices to fall more heavily than ‘necessary’.
Beef is a significant part of the Philippine diet, with soups and stews of Spanish influence featuring prom- inently in cuisine, particu- larly for family gatherings and Sunday lunches.
As can be expected, higher-income earners consume higher propor- tions of beef as their pro- tein source.
Meat & Livestock Aus- tralia research indicates that the Philippines has a relatively youthful popula- tion, with 42 percent of the population aged between 15 and 39 who are aspira- tional consumers who see
Australian Pork Newspaper, June 2021 – Page 17
www.porknews.com.au