Inside Pigs
Export demand drives European pig prices
Because the Chinese pig herd is smaller, exports from European countries are increasing strongly. This development is also fodder for higher European pig prices, according to the ISN price comparison.
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Pig prices have risen across Europe this week. The largest price increase is due to the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, where the price increased by €0,07 per kilo of slaughtered weight. The prices therefore amount to €1,40 per kilo, €1,45 per kilo and €1,33 per kilo, respectively.
The Belgian pig price is therefore approaching the Danish price, which rose by €0,03 to €1,35 per kilo. In Spain and France, the pig price rose by €0,05 last week to €1,62 per kilo and €1,48 per kilo respectively.
China to the market
The fact that pork prices are rising so rapidly is mainly due to an increasing demand for pork from China. African swine fever is prevalent in the Asian country, causing the pig herd to shrink considerably. That is why China is now importing larger volumes of pork from the European Union.
This increase was already visible in January, when exports increased by almost 15% to 140.000 tons. Pig prices in Europe have been on the rise since early March, although this is also the case in the United States. The hope is there for a good outcome trade negotiations between the United States and China.
New markets
The pig price in Spain has been showing an increase for some time. The country has attracted several new export markets; Countries outside the European Union in particular import more pork from Spain. Exports to third countries increased by 2018% in 8 to almost 120.000 tons. A large part of this goes to South Korea.