Inside: Pigs & Feed
Stable pig market is not going according to plan
The European pig market is on stable ground, but the scope for price increases is in fact nil, so that stable quotations are in principle completely logical. However, pig farmers have difficulty accepting lateral movements, as piglet prices do rise and the costs for disposal of manure are considerable.
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While pig farmers in Europe are calling for higher pig prices, the situation on the meat market does not actually allow this. Based purely on the pig supply in Germany and the Netherlands, a price increase is feasible, but demand on the meat market is described as slow by slaughterhouses. Sales are slow, especially within Europe. Compared to last week, the meat market is even showing a deterioration, various slaughterhouses report. German slaughterhouses therefore react with incomprehension to the wish for a price increase.
The fact that the pig supply in Northwest Europe has been somewhat smaller these weeks is mainly a result of the cold temperatures. However, the weather forecast indicates that temperatures will rise again to above 10 degrees Celsius in the south of Germany in early February, which will reduce the impact of this 'supply slowdown' for the time being. A price increase on Wednesday afternoon is certainly not excluded. In Germany, slaughterhouses sometimes deliberately want to harass each other by raising prices, especially in a difficult market.
For week 4, pig prices in Europe all show stable quotations. Only in Italy is a price increase visible from 2 cents to 1,83 euros, but that is also the only quote that moves. Although the quotations show an apparently stable market, it is not as stable as the prices suggest. It will probably remain a market during these winter months in which there will continue to be a tug-of-war between slaughterhouses and pig farmers in terms of pricing.