The U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its projection for 2013 pork output and export sales in its latest World Supply and Demand outlook report released Friday, while lowering its forecast on hog prices for the year.
The agency said its projection for pork production was raised following the December hogs and pigs report, which showed the nation's hog producers plan to raise about the same number of animals in 2013 as the previous year. In addition, carcass weights are expected to be up slightly from 2012. The result was a 2.2% increase in pork production for 2013 from the government's estimates a month earlier.
The projection for 2013 pork exports was raised slightly, up 0.7% from the previous month's estimate due to increased availability on the larger production forecast.
The government's outlook for average hog prices for 2013 was lowered by about $2 per hundredweight to a range of $61 to $65 compared with $63 to $67 in its December report.
The forecast for beef production for 2013 was raised by 220 million pounds, or 0.9%, due primarily to heavier carcass weights, agency said. Beef exports for 2013 were unchanged from the previous month's report.
