USA - cattle herd continues to decline

The national cattle herd continues to decline in the USA. The latest USDA report shows that the national cattle herd stands at 98.8m head, with 30.4m of these being suckler cows, down 2% on 2021.

EU - drought to affect maize crop

The EU maize crop is forecast to reduce by 10 million tonnes (Mt) as a result of drought conditions across the continent. This would leave the maize harvest at a 15-year low of 55.4Mt.

New Zealand - GDT index down 2.9%

The Global Dairy trade (GDT) index fell by almost 3% at this week’s event, which is the fifth consecutive fall since mid-June. The index fell to 1,129 from a high of 1,593 in March.

China - big rise in pork price

Chinese pork prices rose by 20.2% in July from a year ago, which marked the first increase since September 2020, according to official Chinese data.