Inside: Pig Market
ISN is completely done with Tönnies
There is again unrest in the German pig market. This time it's about the sow price. The ISN, the representative for German pig farmers, is furious with Tönnies. But why?
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In the past 5 weeks, Tönnies has corrected the sow price by €0,23 to €0,97 per kilo. In the same time frame, the North/West sow price 'only' fell by €0,15 to €1,13 per kilo.
23
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In the Netherlands, Vion also reduced the sow price by €0,15. The gap arose on Wednesday when Tönnies cut by €1 in one fell swoop, while the Nord/West sow price stabilized. Westfleisch aligned himself with Tönnies and followed the movement.
The Tönnies sow price fell, while the Nordwest sow price remained stable
Turnips cooked
That's why the turnips are cooked in Germany. German pig farmers have given up many sows for slaughter in recent weeks. Pig farmers understand the negative trend. However, a decline of €0,23, or 20%, goes beyond the limits. Especially because sow prices in surrounding countries fell less rapidly.
German slaughterhouses, especially Tönnies, import many sows from abroad. The ISN therefore wonders whether the 'hauspreis' also applies to, for example, Dutch sows that are imported. When asked, slaughterhouses are shady about this.
There has been a gap between the North/West sow price and the slaughterhouse quotations for years. According to the ISN, slaughterhouses prefer to charge a low basic price and play with the surcharges. This makes the sow market opaque.
Do not deliver sows
Despite the price gap, slaughterhouses usually follow the movement of the North/West sow price. Tönnies now seems to be moving away from that. As always, this was only published after the North/West prize was known.
The ISN's call is not to deliver the sows this week at slaughterhouse quotations, but to stick to the North/West sow price. If in doubt: either choose another buyer, or keep the stable doors closed.