Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 3/24/14

Frozen pork supplies in February were up 6 percent from the previous month and up 3 percent from last year, according to USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report.

Industry analysts were looking for the report to confirm suspected pork stockpiling in the face of a recent sharp rise in pork prices. USDA’s pork cutout rose by about $11 per hundredweight in February and has risen another $18 so far in March, according to the Daily Livestock Report.

The DLR called the report bullish for beef and pork and neutral for chicken, noting: “The bullish conclusion for pork is based more on the numbers falling short of lofty expectations than on the numbers themselves as many believed the market was 'stocking up' in anticipation of PEDv-shortened supplies this summer.”  

USDA reported stocks of pork bellies were up 1 percent from last month and up 105 percent from last year.

Poultry
Total frozen poultry supplies on February 28, 2014, were up 3 percent from the previous month but down 5 percent from a year ago.

Total stocks of chicken were down 2 percent from the previous month but up 4 percent from last year.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 14 percent from last month but down 21 percent from February 28, 2013.

Beef
Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 5 percent from the previous month and down 17 percent from last year.

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