Inside Pigs
Pig price still in chains
And again the pig market closes a week with unchanged prices. The hoped-for movement upwards does not seem to get off the ground. What are the prospects for week 35, now that 1 Dutch slaughterhouse has regained its China recognition?
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Stability is the hallmark of the pig price development in the summer of 2020. Where opportunities for a price increase seemed to present themselves, this was made impossible for other reasons. The pig market is still struggling with the after-effects of the heat.
Stable odds
The authoritative German VEZG quotation has shown a stable price for several weeks in a row. The quotation remains unchanged this week at €1,47. In Germany, slaughter weights are falling, but that doesn't seem to help much. The supply of pigs is more than sufficient, against a background of inability to utilize 100% of the slaughter capacity. The Internet Exchange increased today by 1 cent to €1,50 with a meager trade of 3 of the 7 lots sold.
Pig prices in the most important European pig countries have also been stable for several weeks in a row. The leader in the ISN price comparison remains Spain (€1,72). In week 23, the country managed to knock Denmark off its leading position and since then Spain has been at the top. The Danish price is stable at €1,56, followed by France at €1,47, followed by Germany with a price of €1,42. The Netherlands (€1,30) and Belgium (€1,29) are well below this.
Export possible
It was announced last week that Tönnies may again export meat to China from a number of locations. This will benefit sales opportunities and may further shrink the ample pig supply in Northwest Europe. To date, there has been no question of a lifting of the export ban for Dutch slaughterhouses of Van Rooi and Vion. A sad observation because during inspections the impression was that nothing stood in the way of exporting to China again.
China recognition
Westfort was told today (21/08) that it can export meat to China again next week. That's positive. However, the parts that are already stored in the cold store for this purpose are not (yet) allowed to go there. And that somewhat dampens the joy about regaining China's recognition.
Lateral movement
A sideways price movement is also the maximum possible for next week. Intuitively this feels negative, but in the light in which the Dutch pig market operates that is not the case. The patience of the trade is still being tested. The DCA Exchange Price 2.0 remains at €1,34 for slaughtered pigs and €1,05 for live pigs, which means unchanged in both cases.