The conflict in Ukraine and the associated rising raw material prices translate into sharply increased prices for compound feed in March. This is apparent from the monthly overview of Wageningen Economic Research.
Compound feed for all types rose in price last month. The largest increase was recorded for silage maize core chunks, which became no less than €4,50 per 100 kilos more expensive and cost an average of €47,50 per 100 kilos in March. Other cattle feeds such as standard pellet A and protein-rich pellet B also became more expensive. These increased in price by €2,05 and €2,10 respectively and now cost €33,00 and €34,75 per 100 kilos.
Pig farmers are also seeing costs explode
Compound feed for pigs also rose sharply in price in March. Prices for fattening pig starter feeds and baby piglet pellets in particular rose sharply. Starter/transition pellet became €3,10 per 100 kilos more expensive and now costs €40,15 per 100 kilos. Baby piglet pellet increased in price to €2,85 and now costs €47,45 per 100 kilos. Sow pellet lakto became €2,70 more expensive and cost €40,85 in March. Gestation feed for sows increased in price by €2,60 and amounted to €35,95 per 100 kilos. Meat pork chunks 1.08 EW increased in price by €2,85 and now costs €35,10.
The WUR indicates that these are average prices for the month of March. Prices at the end of March were at a considerably higher level than at the beginning of March. It is therefore expected that the average compound feed prices for the month of April will be considerably higher. Due to the volatility in the market, little can be said with certainty about the further development of chunk prices. A small bright spot for livestock farmers is that the most extreme price increases in the commodity markets appear to be behind them. If this remains the case, prices for compound feed may stabilize at the extremely high current level towards the summer.
De Boerenbusiness Compound feed price indicator provides insight into the development of concentrate prices. The tool outlines the price expectations beef chunks en pork chunks for a period of six months in advance. The recent indication shows that feed prices will rise even more sharply in the coming months. According to the latest data, the price of A-brok for beef chunks will be 10% higher in September than in March. A price increase of 9% is expected for pork chunks.