Inside Pigs
German pig price is not a surprise
The pig market is at an impasse. The meat trade is running more smoothly, but the supply of animals ready for slaughter exceeds the processing capacity in both Germany and the Netherlands.
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While the sector has been hoping for a small boost in pig prices before the end of the year for several weeks, this does not seem to be happening anymore. The hope is mainly based on the recent what increased prices for various pig parts.
However, the still reduced processing capacity - due to a lack of staff and corona infections - ensures that slaughterhouses do not have to make any effort to fill the hooks. In the Netherlands there is talk of a somewhat wider supply of pigs ready for slaughter because closed companies have decided not to sell 'leftover' animals for export, but to fatten as much as possible themselves due to the moderate piglet prices.
Slaughter numbers considerably higher
In this context, it is positive that the slaughter numbers increased considerably last week. After the number of slaughters was considerably lower a week earlier due to All Saints' Day (November 1), the number of animals slaughtered rose last week to 847.994 head, more than 50.000 more than the previous week when 781.234 pigs were hanging on the German slaughter hooks. The average slaughtered weight remained stable at 97,7 kilos.
The German VEZG quotation remains this week, for the seventh week in a row, at €1,20 per kilo of slaughtered weight.