It’s been a very positive year for the fresh pork category. We started the year with the Bloomberg headline, “It’s Pork Over Beef in America for First Time Since 1952,” (http://bloom.bg/1IFqmAS) which set the theme for the Year of Pork. After recovering from the PEDv epidemic from 2014, we’ve had an ample supply, and pork has been a great value.
While there was some deflation in the pork market in March and April because of increased production and supply, the market rebounded after April as retail promotion of pork increased, and with that, consumer demand. We saw a stabilization of retail prices as deflation stopped in April, and prices steadily increased through October. As pork supply was up and a great value, retailers increased their promotional frequency of pork, and there were some aggressive features that allowed us to sell more pork at higher prices.