Soybean demand seems to be unusually strong in China despite the widespread culling of pigs due to swine fever, says Darin Friedrichs, senior Asia commodity analyst at INTL FCStone.

Price movements in the US beef market were mixed this week. Independence Day in the US resulted in increased levels of domestic demand. There is potential for the market to build from this point onwards as prices have been hovering at low levels lately.

My comments on the spreading of African Swine Fever in Asian countries have largely been on the market perspective – what the virus means for the global pork supply, consumer prices, etc.

 Vietnam said  it has had initial success in creating a vaccine to fight African swine fever, which has infected farms throughout the Southeast Asian country and prompted the culling of around 10% of its pig herd.

The US beef market was mostly negative this week with a 1.9% decline in the carcass equivalent.

The US beef market was mixed this week with both positive and negative shifts in market prices, the US beef carcass equivalent declined by 1.7% week-onweek.