PRRS virus affects pigs in the US and drives up piglet prices

Ryan Strobel, veterinarian at the Swine Vet Center, told Pig Health Today: "I'm not a market analyst, but there seems to have been so much loss from the PRRS outbreaks that people are forced to buy more piglets. This is to be able to fill their stables and meet delivery obligations." He warns about the veterinary risks when purchasing 'foreign' animals.

The PRRS virus is mainly characterized by fertility problems in sows. It leads to rejects, premature births and a high mortality rate of piglets from the sow. In weaned piglets and fattening pigs it can lead to lung complaints, resulting in higher mortality.

Price tripled compared to last summer
The tight availability translates into high prices for piglets. Data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that a piglet weighing 40 pounds (18,1 kilos), with a flock size of 600 - 1200 head, cost just $2020 (€23 equivalent) at the end of August 19. In the last week of August this year, the price for a comparable piglet was over $59, equivalent to €50 per piece. The high prices are all the more remarkable because piglet prices are normally under pressure in the summer.

The number of pig slaughters is currently well behind last year. Through September 4 this year, 85.930.000 pigs were slaughtered in the United States. That is 1,7%, or 1.486.000, less than in the same period last year. This spring, analysts already suspected a possible impact of the new PRRS strain on production figures.

The presence of the new PRRS strain is not the only factor that negatively affects slaughter figures. Last year, American pig farmers reduced their animal numbers due to major problems surrounding processing capacity in slaughterhouses. However, Strobel suspects that the PRRS outbreak will certainly also have an impact on the pig market. This is in view of the negative consequences that the animal disease has had on pig farms recently (May and June), according to him.