In Germany there is a warning about a shortage of pork. Rising costs of energy, labor and feed threaten to stop pig farmers. Through the Westfleisch slaughterhouse, the sector warns against empty shelves and major price increases.
The prices of energy, feed and labor continue to rise, but pig farmers are not able to pass on the higher costs. Because companies find it difficult to make a profit, many German pig farmers are reducing their herds. The number of pig farmers closing their doors is also increasing. This can be deduced from the German slaughter figure. A few years ago, more than 1 million animals were slaughtered every week, but this has now dropped to approximately 750.000 per week.
So far, Germany has been making up for the shortages with extra imports, with the country already importing 500.000 tons of pork this year. But according to the German pig sector, this solution is not sustainable. Due to the shortages of pigs for slaughter, the chain is starting to get stuck. The sector warns of shortages. "In four to six months, some areas may be empty," says Hubert Kelliger of the large German cooperative meat company Westfleisch.
Price increase likely
Based on the emergency signals, it does not seem unlikely that pork prices in Germany will rise sharply in the short term. It is not yet clear how much the pork price will increase. According to some analysts, pork could easily become 40% more expensive. With such a large price increase, (Dutch) pig prices could also rise.