Hog prices were as low as nine cents per live pound in December. The severe packing capacity shortage on the east coast continues to hamper swine farms. The Carolinas and Virginia have enough surplus pigs to supply a 16,000 head per day slaughter plant. Zering said he hopes hog supplies will be lower by the second half of 1999 with prices back to around 38 cents. Zering said 1999 should be another good year for broiler producers, though not quite as good as 1998.
Demand continues to rise.
U.S. per capita consumption of broiler meat went from 68.8 pounds in 1995 to 74.2 pounds in 1998 and is predicted to hit 78.4 pounds this year. Reduced supplies of beef and pork and predicted large margins for broiler processors may result in greater than expected broiler production and slightly lower prices in 1999. Turkey producers saw profits in 1998 for the first time in three years, according to Zering. A substantial increase in production seems unlikely due to losses in 1996 and 1997 and the narrow margins in 1998. Per capita consumption rose from 17.6 pounds in 1997 to 18 pounds in 1998.