The global market has been at its weakest for some years.

Following the high levels seen last year global pork prices fell to $2.51 per kg in April, 24 per cent lower than in the same month last year. Since then there has been a modest price increase in May and in June it averaged at $2.64 per kg still one quarter less than a year earlier.

Such is the homogeneity of the global market that developments for all major exporters have been similar.

This analysis is based on export prices for the four main global exporters (the EU, US, Canada and Brazil).

Prices began falling in mid-2014 and continued to decline until they reached the lowest level for at least five years in April. This fall comes as the total volume of pork shipped from these four countries has fallen by 1 per cent in the first six months of the year.

The weaker prices in 2015 partly reflect the fact that global production has increased as countries such as the US recover from disease outbreaks, especially PEDv, that limited production in 2014.

This recovery has led to higher volumes available for export but this has coincided with reduced demand from some of the world’s largest importers. For example the Russian trade ban has affected the EU and Canada in particular.

The recent recovery in price is due to an increase in global import demand in the second quarter of the year. This led shipments from the major exporters to increase following three previous quarters of declining volumes.

This development has been especially apparent in shipments from the US and Brazil.