Supplies of poultry and red meat inch up in June

Supplies of poultry and red meat both inched up in June compared with year-earlier levels, setting new records in some categories, and elevated slaughter numbers are expected to pressure prices further in August, analysts said.USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service reported that total frozen poultry supplies on June 30, 2018 were up 3 percent from the previous month and up 6 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were up 2 percent from the previous month and up 10 percent from last year.The total 888.6 million pounds of chicken overall was a record for the month of June, NASS reported. Upward pressure was especially apparent in the drumstick and paws and feet categories.Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 5 percent from last month but down 1 percent from June 30, 2017.Red meatTotal red meat supplies in freezers were down 7 percent in June from the previous month but up 5 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 3 percent from the previous month but up 8 percent from last year.Frozen pork supplies were down 10 percent from the previous month but up slightly from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were down 16 percent from last month but up 130 percent from last year. The totals for pork included record-high levels of ribs. Stores of veal, mutton and lamb also reached record levels.Analysts for the Daily Livestock Report (DLR), published by the Steiner Consulting Group, noted that the June ‘Hogs and Pigs’ inventory data indicated slaughter in late July and August should be around 4 percent higher than a year ago. “Expected large slaughter numbers likely will cause end users to draw down stocks in August, which could pressure prices lower. Already August futures hold a sharp discount to cash,” according to the DLR. Meanwhile, the Livestock Marketing Information Center noted that the number of cattle on feed were reported last week up 4.1 percent over a year ago, on placements up 1.3 percent and marketings up about 1 percent. “The 11.282 million head on feed are the most for a July 1 in the history of this report going back to the mid-1990s,” LMIC noted.