Reduced domestic and international demand for pork is hitting Tyson Foods, one of the nation’s top pork producers. The Arkansas-based meatpacker reported this week that the company earned approximately $25 million from its pork business for the three months ending on July 3. That’s about 63 percent lower than the same quarter in 2021.
The company reports that China, the biggest consumer of pork in the world, is buying less pork from the United States. Company executives also reported this week that U.S. stores are buying less pork as well.
Hog farmers find themselves needing to decrease the number of pigs they’re raising this year because of higher corn prices for feeding the animals and fewer buyers at the grocery store. Domestically, U.S. farms had approximately 72.5 million head of hogs as of June 1, down one percent from the same day in 2021. Tyson expects that the tight live hog supply will continue.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)