Inside Pigs
Lack of impulse continues to draw pig market
After the umpteenth blow that the German pig price had to take last week, the price has now found a bottom for the time being. However, there is not much reason for optimism.
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Last week, pig farmers had to take another reduction due to the continuing malaise on the meat markets. Last week's correction appears not to have been fully passed on in the meat trade, resulting in some margin improvement at the slaughterhouses. This ensures that the pig price remains stable this week, despite the continued difficult trade in pigs.
Meat trade does not appear to have deteriorated further
After the poor meat trade in recent months that has made things difficult for the pig market, there are now some signs of stabilization in this area. It seems that last week's good weather, as well as the end of the holidays, have provided a slight boost in demand. However, the mood generally remains depressed due to a large meat supply on the European markets, caused by the relentless sales to China.
Slaughtering capacity is an issue again
In addition to the meat trade, the processing and slaughter capacity is again a point of attention. German slaughterhouses are currently facing a serious labor shortage. Employees appear to have less net salary due to the social security contributions they receive under permanent contracts (which have been mandatory since the beginning of this year). In addition, there is dissatisfaction about the large number of corona tests and the long time that employees have to stand aside in the event of an infection. New outbreaks of corona also mean that very few working hours are available for the slaughterhouses.
Dutch traders can deliver less
Dutch traders report that they can supply fewer pigs to some slaughter locations. For example, Tönnies is currently slaughtering more than 5.000 fewer pigs per day at its location in Sögel. The capacity has been reduced from an original 13.000 units to approximately 8.000 units. The smaller slaughterhouse Manten, which normally processes approximately 20.000 pigs per week, also had to halt its activities for 3 days last week. All in all, the situation means that pigs have to be moved around.
The number of slaughters fell slightly last week to 818.452 heads. The average slaughter weight increased 0,1 kilo to 96,9 kilos. The VEZG quotation for Wednesday, September 8, 2021 is set at €1,25 per kilo of slaughtered weight.