# Impacts of COVID-19 on Pig Production and Pork Processing

> An industry article outlines how COVID-19 will affect pig production and pork processing in the short and long term. Iowa State economist Dermot Hayes expects more robotics, slower line speeds, and more flexible packing lines. He also expects changes to product labeling.

- Date: 2020-04-29 · published 2020-04-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/53802-impacts-of-covid-19-on-pig-production-and-pork-processing
- Commodities: [Lean Hogs](https://feedsoft.ai/c/HOGS.md)

## Why it matters

Slower packing line speeds and added labor costs could reduce throughput and widen the spread between hog and pork prices. The longer-term effects are mostly structural rather than an immediate price shock.

## Read by commodity

- HOGS: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HOGS | 2020-06-18 | [U.S. pork processing rebounds to 95% of 2019 levels](https://feedsoft.ai/events/52741-u-s-pork-processing-rebounds-to-95-of-2019-levels.md) | -5.8% | +1.7% |
| HOGS | 2023-03-16 | [More action urged on foot-and-mouth \| The Western Producer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36800-more-action-urged-on-foot-and-mouth-the-western-producer.md) | -6.2% | -11.3% |
| HOGS | 2021-08-23 | [FAO, IUCN SSC and OIE warn of African swine fever impact on wildlife conservation \| IUCN](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45449-fao-iucn-ssc-and-oie-warn-of-african-swine-fever-impact-on-wildlife.md) | +0.1% | -7.3% |
| HOGS | 2021-05-12 | [ASF, grain price volatility add risk to pig production \| Feed Strategy](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47095-asf-grain-price-volatility-add-risk-to-pig-production-feed-strategy.md) | -0.5% | +7.6% |
| HOGS | 2021-10-01 | [The $100-billion toll of a pig epidemic in China \| Nature](https://feedsoft.ai/events/44450-the-100-billion-toll-of-a-pig-epidemic-in-china-nature.md) | -1.1% | -14.9% |

## Sources

- agriculture.com: https://www.agriculture.com/livestock/hogs/impacts-of-covid-19-on-pig-production-and-pork-processing

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.