USA - pigmeat exports hit record high

US pigmeat exports hit a new record for the first nine months of 2020 at 2.2m tonnes, with a value of $5.7bn (€4.8bn). Despite an extra 25% tariff, US exports to China and Honk Kong were 801,000t for the first nine months, almost double the same period in 2019.

Brazil - beef exports on the rise

ABRAFRIGO, which represents factories in Brazil, reports that beef exports in October were 189,575t, bringing the 2020 total to 1.65m tonnes, an increase of 9% on the record 2019 exports for the same period.

China - decline in food service sales

Rabobank reports that Chinese food service sales declined by 2.9% in September and forecasts an overall decline of 16% for 2020, but with a rebound in 2021.

Australia - wheat production forecast rise

As grain prices rise around the globe, Australian farmers are forecast to increase their wheat production by 91% in 2020/21 to 29mt, its biggest since the record high of 2016/17. The higher production is due to higher area and higher than average yields following adequate rain and three years of drought.