Heavy pigs with 'little' meat in July

The slaughter figures for the month of July are known. The figures from week 27 to week 30 were included in the analysis. During this period, the number of pig slaughters has increased weekly, surpassing the 5-year average from week 28, as well as the 2019 level in week 30. Considering previous years, there will be a small dip in (or around) week 32 ', after which the upward trend resumes and continues.

Number of animals slaughtered
For the month of July, the month actually has an average course. Both the 5-year average and the 2019 level are followed almost exactly. The only notable week in this case is week 30, because it deviates from the course of other years. With 30 animals slaughtered, week 292.000 is higher than the 5-year average (280.800 animals) and 2019 even shows a small decline (279.000 animals).

The other weeks are so similar to previous years that there is actually little to see. From week 27 onwards, most slaughterhouses will recover from the closures that have taken place, causing capacity to increase again. The upward trend probably also has to do with the number of pigs that remained in the stable in other weeks, but which were slaughtered in the following weeks.

Heavy pigs
Compared to previous years, the pigs are very heavy, especially compared to the 5-year average. The heaviest pigs in July were slaughtered in week 29. The animals had an average weight of 99,5 kilos, which is 3,5 kilos more than in the same week last year. The usual dip in this period is also not as clearly visible as in previous years and the weight peaks are also larger than before. The corona crisis certainly has an influence on this, but to what extent cannot be fully estimated.

less meat
Despite the heavy weights, the percentage of meat is lower than in previous years. This has been a recurring image in the past year. Only in week 27 did the pigs have a higher percentage of meat than in the 5-year average and compared to last year. This is a paltry 0,04% compared to the 5-year average and 0,2% compared to 2019.

In week 28, the percentage is equal to that of 59,2 at 2019% and falls below the 0,02-year average by 5%. After that, things move quickly, although the percentage differences are generally very small. For both weeks 29 and 30, the pigs have a meat percentage of 59%. A strange decline, since the percentages normally increase during this period. This is also most likely due to the fact that the animals sometimes had to stay in the stables longer due to the closure of certain meat processors.