Piglet market dominated by better sales

In the past 4 weeks, the average piglet price in Europe (week 31) fell by 10,7% to €49,30 per piglet. In absolute terms, the piglet market is still high. The difference with the 5-year average is 16,1%.

In Germany there was briefly talk of a slight surplus at the end of July, but this is no longer the case. The German piglet price stabilized last week at €57 per piglet and will probably remain there for the time being. With the exception of the Spanish one, almost all representative piglet quotations in Europe have encountered a resistance limit.

Letting go of the free market
In the Netherlands, sales of fixed couplings are going well. The number of free piglets, which are surplus, is slowly but surely drying up. The size has shrunk to such an extent that the free market no longer exerts much pressure on the quotations. Traders also argue that the pressure from residual flocks should not weigh too heavily in the listing. That's what the assignments are for. The argument here is that the price gap between fixed couplings and free piglets remains the same, even if the price falls.

Meanwhile, traders are noticing a cautious turnaround on the piglet market. The extreme pressure is gone. There are even upward price motives to be seen. The DCA BestPigletPrice responds to this and increases by €0,50 to €49 per piglet. However, the 'January piglets' are on their way, which means that sales will not suddenly go smoothly in the coming weeks.

Higher piglet production in Denmark
Denmark has more sows again. Also see Danish pig farmers production per sow continues to increase to 32,2 piglets in 2016. A Danish sow produces approximately 0,8 more piglets per year. In 2013, the number of piglets per sow in Denmark passed the 30 mark. In 2016, the figure was 32,2 piglets per sow. That is an increase of 0,8 compared to 2015, when a Danish sow produced an average of 31,4 live piglets.

These figures come from a company comparison in which 450.000 sows at 570 companies were compared. The growing number of Danish quality piglets means that Denmark remains a formidable competitor for Dutch piglet sales. Especially because the number of sows is not decreasing any further and has even increased slightly. In July, Denmark had 1.228 sows. In one year, the number of piglets has even increased by 3% to more than 2,5 million.

Vion unchanged
Vion slaughterhouse has left the pig price at €1,69 per kilo for the sixth week in a row. Vion talks about a wide range, but that is logical given that the pig market is still going strong 1 tough week must. According to Vion, meat sales outside Europe are confronted with deteriorating exchange rates. The room for higher pig prices therefore seems to have to come mainly from Europe.