LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
02 April 2020 - 11:06PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
US Meat Exports Ail as Coronavirus Spreads -- Market Talk
12:11 ET - As consumer pantry and freezer-stocking eases, the US
meat industry remains reliant on export markets, but the
coronavirus is proving a formidable hurdle. Sanderson Farms is
still shipping poultry to China, where logistical constraints are
easing, but it's a different story in markets like Kazakhstan and
Vietnam, where mitigation efforts and stay-at-home orders are
cutting into imports, says CEO Joe Sanderson. Oil-reliant
countries, like Angola, are grappling with the downdraft in crude
prices, and the stronger US dollar is making US commodities more
expensive relative to products offered by other countries, like
Brazil. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Coronavirus Had Sanderson Considering Euthanizing Chickens --
Market Talk
11:53 ET - The dropoff in the restaurant business is forcing
chicken processors to figure out what to do with the traditionally
larger-sized birds raised for foodservice markets. Sanderson Farms
CEO Joe Sanderson says his company looked at euthanizing some of
them, versus the added processing and transport costs of trucking
them to retail-processing plants and paring them down for
supermarket-ready packages. "We looked at it and said, process the
birds, and sell them," Sanderson says on a conference call, though
he says the company has the contractors and know-how to do it if
need be. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Brinker Withdraws FY20 Guidance, Suspends Dividend >EAT
Brinker International Inc. said Thursday it is withdrawing its
financial guidance for fiscal 2020 and suspending its quarterly
dividend as a result of conditions arising from Covid-19.
The restaurant company said its Chili's and Maggiano's
restaurants are operating in an off-premise-only model, and
off-premise sales have more than doubled year-over-year.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Meat Plant Employees Still Showing Up, Sanderson Says -- Market
Talk
11:34 ET - The US food system depends heavily on employees
continuing to staff often-crowded processing lines, like those run
by Mississippi-based chicken company Sanderson Farms. CEO Joe
Sanderson says on a conference call that employee attendance in
recent weeks has been mostly acceptable, with larger-than-normal
absenteeism. That hasn't stopped Sanderson from running weekend
shifts in many of its plants as the company plays catch-up to
roaring supermarket demand, though this will ease as April goes on,
Sanderson says, to avoid burning out workers. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com;
@jacobbunge)
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Close Day Limit Down on Coronavirus Worries --
Market Talk
14:40 ET - Both live cattle and lean hogs on the CME finish
limit down for the second consecutive day. Hog and cattle limits
were expanded today and will remain at the expanded 4.5 cents per
pound limit Friday. "The meat markets remain under heavy selling
pressure due to the recent sharp drop in product prices as domestic
demand falls due to coronavirus," says Arlan Suderman of INTL
FCStone. Lean hogs finished the day down 7.9% to 52.825 cents per
pound, while live cattle dropped 5.1% to 83.075 cents per pound.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 2
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Apr 2 +$ 26.85 -$ 6.59
Apr 1 +$ 16.96 -$ 1.20
Mar 31 +$ 13.95 +$ 5.55
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production.
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of production of the animals.
Beef-O-Meter
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices.
Beef
For Today Choice 102.9
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 101.4
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday fell $2.53 per
hundred pounds, to $232.64, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices fell $3.01 per hundred pounds, to $222.12. The total load
count was 115. Wholesale pork prices fell $2.51, to $58.67 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 02, 2020 17:51 ET (21:51 GMT)
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