Ag News: Retail Food Prices Higher and Pork Production Up
**Retail food prices have increased 1.6% in the first six months of 2021, less than the same period last year of 2.9% and equal to the historical average from 2000 to 2019.
www.agrimarketing.com reports, of the 13 food categories depicted in the data, 10 have experienced slower price increases so far in 2021 compared with 2020, while 5 categories trailed their historical midyear average price increases.
www.agrimarketing.com/s/137226
**Unexpectedly high slaughter rates in China pushed pork production higher in the first half of the year and has resulted in a sharp price decline and negative results in both farming and trading in the first half of 2021.
According to www.agriculture.com, it also means low pork imports into China in the third quarter of 2021.
The latest Pork Quarterly report from RaboResearch shows China’s slaughter rates jumped sharply in the second quarter, pushing pork production up 35.9% over last year’s rate in the first half of the year.
**California is imposing a quarantine against an invasive insect harmful to agriculture and natural resources.
The state Department of Food and Agriculture announced the quarantine this month to prohibit entry into California of plants, materials or containers infested with the spotted lanternfly.
The insects, first detected in Pennsylvania, produce a mold from feeding that can threaten grapes, apples and numerous plant and tree species.
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