News Countus Pig Index
Countus introduces Pig and Piglet Index
Countus Accountant en Adviseurs has developed a Fattening Pigs and Piglets Index in collaboration with DCA Groep. The indices schematically show how the balances in the fattening pig and sow farming sector relate to the past. A yield forecast is also provided.
Jan van der Haar, advisor intensive livestock farming at Countus, says that the indices provide a good picture of the balances in the fattening pig and sow farming sector. "You can see it as a gauge between the yields on the one hand and the feed and fertilizer disposal costs on the other. These factors are the most decisive for the balance."
Countus has been working with the Dairy Cattle Index en arable index, which function properly. The Fattening Pigs and Piglets Index are now added to this.
Yield forecast
Van der Haar experiences in practice that entrepreneurs think too positively about their own revenues and the level of the cost price. "It sometimes happens that cost items have to be adjusted afterwards, while the revenues are disappointing." According to Van der Haar, the indices are an indicator against which an entrepreneur can compare his own results and expectations.
"With the forecast, which is based, among other things, on developments and seasonal patterns in the feed raw materials, pig and piglet markets, we want to give entrepreneurs a realistic picture of the expected yields in the coming months." The Index can be a tool to decide whether or not to invest from the current account, or to build up extra financial buffers.
Fattening pig index is below average
Yields are currently below average in both pig and sow farming. In week 48, the Fattening Pig Index recorded 80,6 points, with 100 points being the 5-year average. The Index has been negatively impacted by chunk prices. These are at the highest level since 2014, while the manure disposal costs are also high. The piglet costs, on the other hand, turn out to be low, given that the piglet prices were still below the limit of €30 per piglet a short time ago.
On the revenue side, we see that pig prices are below average. So far in 2018, the German pig price (VEZG) averages out at €1,42 per kilo, while €1,51 is the long-term average. The forecast expects a further decline until the end of the year, after which it is probably possible to look upwards again.
Piglet index scrambles up
The Piglet Index records 60 points (week 48), with 100 points being the 5-year average. Also in sow farming there is rising feed costs and high manure disposal costs, while piglet prices were recently at a record low. Piglet prices have been on the rise again since the end of October and the Index is responding to that.
The Index is expected to increase in the coming months, the extent of which is likely dependent on developments in the pig market.
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Wouter Job
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