Pork/Hogs: High 2022 prices for hogs and pork are largely attributable to supply factors, unlike 2021, when prices were mostly driven by pandemic-related changes in consumer pork demand. Pork production for 2022 is expected to decline 2.2 percent from a year ago, due largely to lower numbers of available slaughter-ready hogs. Hog prices should average about $74 per cwt this year, almost 10 percent higher than in 2021. This year’s exports are forecast to decline 6.4 percent due to reduced Chinese purchases and to the appreciated value of the U.S. dollar.
