Inside Pigs
Bottom on piglet market not yet within reach
Piglet prices have plummeted in recent weeks. The question is whether the quotations will continue to fall, or whether they will soon find ground again.
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The extreme heat has not done any good to the piglets' sales opportunities. Due to the growth retardation and the alternative slaughter schedules, there are relatively many pigs ready for slaughter postponed to this week. This means that the space available for placing piglets has logically shrunk.
Points of contact in Germany
Nevertheless, there are also starting points to be found. The VEZG piglet price remains at €56 this week. Supply and demand are reasonably balanced in Germany. There is still an imbalance in the Netherlands. The explanation for this is that the Netherlands is an export country and Germany imports a lot of piglets. Dutch exports are heavily dependent on Spanish demand, which is currently quite disappointing. The Spanish integrations often offer money back.
Dutch fattening pig farmers are also reluctant to feed the piglets. This is despite the fact that pork prices have found a bottom. Moreover, the market opportunities for the longer term are quite positive. What also slows down domestic sales is the so-called stopper scheme. Participating stables must be emptied by 2020. Some therefore choose to keep departments empty during the last round. This is because they doubt they can achieve returns due to the high big costs.
BPP further down
All in all, the piglet market is difficult. Sales within the permanent couplings are continuing reasonably well, but there is currently little interest in the free piglets. This dampens the entire sentiment and is reflected in the entries that traders have made to DCA markets. The DCA BestPigletPrice drops by €2 to €44 per piglet. However, traders expect that the BPP will look for stabilization in the coming weeks.