Inside: Pig Market
Tense pig market does not choose direction
Historically, late summer has been a good time for the pig market and prices are rising. Whether this balloon will also go up this year remains to be seen. The outlook is bleak and supply is far from tight. There are also struggles about the payment method.
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The pig market is still in mid-August searching. The prices are locked and do not choose any direction. A British site put the situation aptly: 'The European pig prices are getting nowhere'. In other words, it lacks impulses. The meat market is not exciting, the weather is far from summery, the supply is not overly tight and the pigs are heavy. The euro is only increasing in value. This is not good for pork sales outside Europe.
Southern Europe down
The German pig market was transfixed this week. The 'Vereinigungspreis' recorded €1,70 per kilo for the fourth week in a row. The Internet Exchange recorded €1,76 per kilo on both Tuesday and Friday. It is striking that the quotations in the southern countries, such as France, Italy and Spain, are looking downwards. In Brittany, the pig price has been declining by €0,01 for several weeks. The Spanish pig price also turned slightly red this week, after the decimal point. If this is a harbinger of the overall trend in Europe, it is downward. Denmark also turned red.
In the Netherlands, slaughterhouses report that the current pig price is the maximum. In Germany, the large slaughterhouses appear to be pushing for a reduction. It remains to be seen whether this is mood-mongering or whether action is put into words. The arguments for lowering are not clear.
Dutch traders and pig farmers are slowly realizing that an increase is far away. Most slaughterhouses will be slaughtering at full capacity again next week, but can draw on a wide range. This means that pigs are not kept in anyway and may even be brought forward. According to slaughterhouses, deliveries continue smoothly.
Struggles?
There seem to be some difficulties among Dutch slaughterhouses and traders about the payment system regarding the fat/muscle ratio. When asked, the rumors are confirmed, but the jaws remain tight.
End of holiday
The holidays are over, which means that meat buyers are coming forward again. Slaughterhouses hope that sales will start again soon. With the exception of the forepart (shoulders), meat sales are tepid. The DCA Exchange Price 2.0 was tightened in the market at the beginning of August, based on good expectations. The good prospects are fading, but the stock exchange price remains at €1,62 per kilo for slaughtered pigs. The price of live pigs remains at €1,28.