Dear readers,
Some good news related to the swine industry:
- Merck Animal Health(MSD Animal Health ) and US Kansas Governor Laura Kelly jointly announced an $895 million expansion of Merck Animal Health’s manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas.
- Conagra Brands plans to spend $29.1 million to expand its facility in Macon, Missouri, part of a strategy that also will create 26 jobs when completed. The project will include new raw meat processing systems.
- US pork processor Daily’s Premium Meats launched work on a $95 million project to expand bacon production at its St. Joseph(Missouri) plant for food service and retail markets. The expansion, which will add 10,000 square meter and new processing equipment, is slated for completion by summer 2026, adding about 100 jobs.
Events calendar:
- The OPORMEX Intercontinental Congress has grown exponentially, becoming the leading forum for pork production in Mexico and Latin America, attracting the most important global players in the pork industry. The 4-th edition takes place between 20-24 may, at Centro de Convenciones del Complejo Vidanta, Nuevo Vallarta
- The Warsaw FOOD Expo is one of the most important industry events in Poland. Held annually at the Ptak Warsaw Expo in Nadarzyn, it takes place on 3 days from Tuesday, 20.05.2025 to Thursday, 22.05.2025.
- The IFEX Philippines is an annual trade fair for Philippine and Asian food products and services, held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasayhe. IFEX Philippines will take place on 3 days from Thursday, 22. May to Saturday, 24. May 2025.
- The Salon de l’Agriculture Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the most important regional agricultural fair in western France. Held annually at the Parc des Expositions in Bordeaux. The Salon will take place on 6 days from Saturday, 24. May to Thursday, 29. May.
To Brasil
I joined the management team of one of the largest players of the world protein market more than 20 years ago. There I had the chance to learn about the complexity and correlations of the protein markets of the planet. Pork, poultry and beef markets are correlated on a global level and so is the grain market. The famous “butterfly effect” is seen frequently in the international meat trade, as the information circulates almost instantly and most of the markets are less controlled by politics.
The rising star of the protein and grain market of the last decade is, without any doubt, Brazil.
Marfrig Global Foods and BRF have proposed a plan to merge, which would create a rival to fellow Brazil meat giant JBS but with much lower revenues. In a joint statement, Marfrig and BRF said separate board meetings would be convened on 18 June to “deliberate on the merger”. If approved, Marfrig would become MBRF Global Foods Company. Marfrig is already BRF’s largest shareholder, holding a 50.49% interest in 2024, according to BRF’s annual report.
Whoever follows the different meat markets has seen the unstoppable rise of the beef prices in the last months. Beef was never a competitor to the poultry, but it has affected the pork market. A higher beef price triggers a higher price for the other important red meat, the pork. On the other hand, a low poultry price limits the possibility of rising the prices. Shorter production cycle and less feed support a lower price for the poultry, unless something special happens!
Brazil exported 5.29 million tons of chicken in 2024, shipping poultry products to China, the EU, Saudi Arabia, and more than 150 other countries.
Brazil has just confirmed the first outbreak of avian influenza on a commercial poultry farm. China has suspended imports of Brazilian poultry for 60 days. The European Union, the United States, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay have also banned access.
The outbreak occurred in the city of Montenegro, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil’s southernmost state. Rio Grande do Sul accounts for more than 16% of Brazil’s total poultry exports , with major producers such as BRF, JBS Seara, Vibra and Nicolini operating extensive poultry breeding and processing operations. The state is in proximity of Port of Rio Grande, a major logistic hub.
The ban is temporary, reshaping the global poultry meat market for a few months. The evolution of the disease, the capacity of the authorities and the farmers to limit the spread will influence the medium term evolution of the Brazilian poultry industry, but so will the politics. China was the largest buyer and this could change rapidly. Nevertheless, politics in China sometimes overwrite sanitary-veterinary rules, as we could see in the case of pork imports from Russia, an African Swine Fever affected country. Anyhow, in a global protein market, we need to pay attention to Brasil!
