Hunger for pigs sets the tone for pricing

The pig supply was the common thread that ran through the pig market in the past few months. Whatever was done by the slaughterhouses (up to and including the slaughter on Saturday), it did not seem to help in eliminating the supply. This weighed heavily on the price formation of pigs, which bottomed out at €1,22 per kilo (weeks 3 to 5 of 2018).

Heavy weights, a difficult meat trade and African swine fever gave the market a deep red color. Currency exchange rates played a prominent role in meat sales, making meat exports to countries outside the eurozone difficult.

Tide turned?
But the tide seems to have turned. Last week there were already sentiments that the market was on the verge of collapse. With the expectation of a possible significant increase in Germany, the Dutch slaughterhouses were forced to go along. The plus 7 that was conjured from the German hat was anticipated by few parties. This further puts the pig market on edge. The German market may be in for another increase in the coming week now that the Internet stock exchange has increased by €0,03, with 9 of the 11 lots on offer being traded. €1,47 was quoted.

Against this background, it is up to DCA Exchange Price 2.0 to be the first to shed light on the pig price forecast for week 7. Passing on pigs is no longer an issue. Moreover, when prices rise, fatteners tend to hold onto pigs longer. Carnival also plays a role.

Demand in the market
This allows trade to focus on market demand. The slaughterhouses have quite a bit of work to fill the slaughter hooks for the coming weeks, so that the supply is quickly absorbed. The meat trade is expected to change to a plus of close to €0,06 in the coming week. This indicates that significant price increases can be strange enough. A change of approximately €0,08 (in plus) is expected for hams and shoulders. Bellies and ribs are about €0,02 below that. In the short term it all looks positive.

For week 7, the DCA Exchange Price 2.0 for slaughtered pigs will change by €0,07 to €1,32. For live pigs the change amounts to €0,06, which increases the quotation to €1,05.