Pig farmers read Tönnies the lesson

In week 9, the German pig price broke through weeks of radio silence on the pig market in northwestern Europe by rising by 2 cents to 1,54 euros per kilo. This increase was certainly not too ambitious, because supply has been tight for weeks, while the meat market is slowly starting to pick up. According to various slaughterhouses, the meat market is not reacting negatively to the rising pig prices and the market even has the potential to rise steadily during the month of March, albeit in moderate and manageable steps.

In response to the positive and improving pig market, the German pig price rose again on Wednesday afternoon, in consultation with the German slaughterhouses, this time by 3 cents to 1,57 euros. According to some parties, this increase was even on the modest side, given the current situation on the market. Until Wednesday afternoon there was nothing wrong with the German pig market, because after a large number of market participants had quoted the price on time, the light was green to implement the increase definitively. However, when the increase was finally announced, Tönnies reported that they were recording sideways in week 10 and therefore would not be included in the increase through a hauspreis.

According to the ISN, the representative body of German pig farmers, Tönnies' practices are a typical example of unreasonableness. That is why the ISN asks whether Tönnies consciously wants to put a stop to the association award. In many cases, the negative difference between the two quotations must be covered by pig farmers or traders out of their own pocket. Or Tönnies is trying to alleviate its own pain, because the Chinese sales market has been closed for a few weeks. The second has been the case for some time and, according to the ISN, can therefore not be a reason to fail to attend at the very last minute. Whatever the reason; the criticism of Tönnies is strong.

Vion gratefully made use of Tönnies on Wednesday afternoon by also announcing a hauspreis. The other slaughterhouses, including Danish Crown and Westfleisch, did go along with the German 'vereinigungspreis' and probably gained goodwill as a result. The incident is probably not bad for Danish Crown, because they were the troubled dog in Germany at the end of last year. According to the ISN, it would therefore not hurt to consider an idea to pay for the behavior of Tönnies and Vion at a later date.