Meat and bone meal (MBM) traded higher into the Indonesia and China markets. A mix of higher soybean meal prices, supply concerns and the rapidly approaching Lunar New Year holiday all are contributing the price increase for MBM.

Australian cattle slaughter was estimated by the MLA at 38,219 head for last week. Slaughter is roughly 30,000 head lower than 2021 levels and 76,000 head lower than 2020. It’s reasonable to expect continued supply limitations out of the Australian and New Zealand markets. US production is at risk for tightening as well due to the rapid and widely distributed spread of the Omicron variant. Absenteeism in the US is limiting production at some packing plants and a slower output of MBM, as well as other rendered products, is expected by the industry over the next few weeks.

MBM prices in the US are higher on supply tightening as well as higher soybean meal prices. It’s likely that a number of buyers lined up their December and early January…