The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 119.5 points in August, down 0.9 points (0.7%) from July, but still standing 4.3 points (3.7%) above its corresponding value last year.

International price quotations for poultry meat fell in August, reflecting the lingering effects of the Newcastle disease-related voluntary export suspension on Brazilian price quotations, despite the Government declaring an end to the outbreak one week after its announcement.

World pig meat prices decreased for the second consecutive month due to lackluster import demand amidst ample exportable availabilities in major producing regions.

Following three months of steep increases, international ovine meat prices declined marginally in August, owing to a slowdown in import purchases, especially by China.

By contrast, world bovine meat prices increased slightly due to the influence of the seasonally falling supplies of animals for slaughter in Oceania.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have documented the absence of infection by Trichinella, a parasite that once posed a major food safety risk in the commercial pork supply. ARS and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conducted a national survey by sampling 3.2 million pigs raised under the U.S. Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) program and found zero animals infected with Trichinella. These results are consistent with international food safety guidelines for Trichinella to be considered a negligible risk for public health.

The United States does not perform post-slaughter testing for Trichinella in the pork supply. While modern production systems followed by U.S pork producers effectively minimize risk of exposure to this parasite, absence of Trichinella infection has never been verified through national testing. ARS researchers pursued this study to ascertain whether the PQA+ program eliminates the risk of Trichinella exposure in commercial pork, thereby addressing the demands of the U.S. export market.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) caused an estimated $1.2 billion per year in lost production in the U.S. pork industry from 2016 to 2020, an 80% increase from a decade earlier, according to a new analysis by Iowa State University expert, Dr. Derald Holtkamp, professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine.

A 2012 study estimated the virus caused $664 million in annual losses from 2006 to 2010. The sharp increase in economic damage caused by PRRS isn’t driven by changes in market prices, production cost, or the size of the U.S. pig inventory. Those factors only account for about $108 million of the $536 million increase in annual losses. The other $428 million is attributed to the portion of herds affected by PRRS and the differences in productivity between affected and unaffected herds.

A disproportionate amount of the production loss increase came in herds of growing pigs, as opposed to breeding herds. In the 2006-10 study, growing herds accounted for 55% of lost production. In the new study, 68% of the estimated losses come from growing herds. This is attributed to new virus variants and changes in sow immunization methods.