Inside Pigs
Tönnies closed until July 17th, problems are piling up
It will take at least another 14 days before the German meat company Tönnies can resume slaughtering activities. This again spells bad news for the badly troubled pig market. The unrest is great, and so is the pressure on the price.
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The Ministry of Health of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has extended the quarantine period at the slaughterhouse until Friday 17 July, it was announced today (July 3). Tönnies itself is a little more positive and expects, based on signals from the German authorities, that the location in Rheda Wiedenbrück can be started up gradually earlier.
In any case, the congestion on the German pig market will remain in effect for the time being. The range is also very wide in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. A considerable number of pigs cannot therefore be slaughtered and must therefore be moved on. As the weeks go by, the problems pile up. Hundreds of thousands of pigs hang above the market, for which there is no sales.
Export ban to China
Apart from the loss of slaughter capacity, there are major concerns about the export ban to China that Vion, Van Rooi and Westfort were confronted with this week. Tönnies has been struggling with this for some time now. Solutions are eagerly sought, although there are none yet. It will probably surprise no one that meat prices have come under (great) pressure. All the more so because meat consumption in Germany is also weak. Danish Crown reports a 20% drop in sales in the German market, presumably because consumers associate (pork) meat with the coronavirus.
Provisional Scholarship Price
Pig prices fell sharply this week. Vion reduced 15 cents, Van Rooi and Compaxo both reduced 14 cents. The German pig price (VEZG) lost 6 cents to €1,60 per kilo and is therefore below the long-term average. It is difficult to predict further price developments on the pig market. That is why the DCA Scholarship 2.0 is being released for the time being. The final quotation will follow on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 20.00 p.m. Based on the statements, the provisional price for slaughtered pigs falls by 19 cents to €1,33 per kilo. The price of live pigs yields 16 cents to €1,05 per kilo.