CHICAGO, March 17 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hog futures firmed on expectations of stronger demand from China on Monday, according to analysts, as the world’s second largest economy launched another economic stimulus plan.
CME June live cattle settled up 1.725 cents at 201.075 cents per pound. CME April feeder cattle futures rose 3 cents to end at 284.2 cents per pound.
Hope that demand from the world’s largest meat importer will climb after the country announced a new stimulus for its flagging economy rose among investors, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
On Sunday, China’s State Council announced what it called a “special action plan” to boost domestic consumption, which includes measures like increasing residents’ income and establishing a childcare subsidy scheme.
Consumer demand in China has chilled in recent years because of COVID-19 disruptions, as well as a prolonged property slump and slowing spending.
Also on Monday, Beijing renewed registrations that allow hundreds of U.S. pork and poultry facilities to export to China, industry groups said, after lapses in those registrations threatened shipments.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation and the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council said China is understood to have renewed registrations for U.S. pork and poultry facilities that expired in February and over the weekend for five years.
CME’s April lean hog contract settled up 1.45 cents to 88.075 cents per pound.
Meanwhile, Canada has resumed imports from the biggest U.S. pork-processing plant, a Smithfield Foods facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina, after suspending shipments for about a week, the company said on Friday.
In wholesale values, USDA choice boxed beef rose $2.89 to $321.16 per hundredweight (cwt), while select rose $1.58 to $307.90 per cwt.
In pork, carcasses rose $0.27 to $97.65 per cwt and bellies rose $1.72 to $142.80 per cwt. (Reporting by Renee Hickman; Editing by Alan Barona)
