Pig sector is struggling through the corona crisis

Once it became apparent that the coronavirus was also spreading rapidly in the Netherlands, measures were drawn up to prevent large-scale infections. Uncertainty increased due to, among other things, a drop in sales demand from the catering industry. When Vion halted its activities on location in Groenlo due to large-scale corona infections among staff, the uncertainty increased. A slaughter capacity of almost 25.000 pigs suddenly disappeared.

Due to the corona crisis, slaughterhouses have come under a social magnifying glass. There was a lot of negative response to the situation in slaughterhouses regarding the working conditions of migrant workers and their housing.

export ban
In mid-June, Tönnies also closed its slaughterhouse in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany due to corona infections. This caused even more tension on the Dutch pig market. The supply of fattening pigs continued to increase and finding sales opportunities was very difficult. The slaughter capacity of approximately 20.000 to 25.000 pigs per week disappeared completely. Shortly afterwards, China imposed an import ban on meat from Tönnies, because of fears about the coronavirus.

When China also suspended the import of pork from a number of Dutch slaughterhouses, it was a total shock. Due to export barriers, the pork supply grew rapidly. Traders tried as best they could to get rid of the pigs on offer, but this turned out to be a difficult job.

Pig's mantle dries up
In mid-July, Tönnies was allowed to resume its activities on location in Rheda-Wiedenbrück after they had been shut down for 4 weeks. This did not immediately eliminate the oversupply on the Dutch pig market, but it did provide some relief. Tönnies has now almost fully resumed its slaughter capacity and this, partly due to the slowdown in growth on many companies as a result of the heat wave, is reducing the oversupply of pigs. Sales are less difficult, but there is no question of smooth sales yet.

It was also announced at the end of last week that Tönnies will be allowed to export meat to China again from a number of locations. To date, there has been no question of a lifting of the export ban for Van Rooi and Vion.

Pig price
The difficult conditions have also been reflected in pig prices. The DCA Exchange Price 2.0 for live and slaughtered pigs have fallen sharply since week 11, the start of the corona crisis. The quotations have stabilized somewhat since week 28.

Read all the news about the coronavirus and meat processing our file.