Inside Pigs
Corona extinguishes glimmer of hope on pig market
Although meat sales are improving in the run-up to December, this does not help pig prices. The persistently wide range is an obstacle and then there is also the uncertainty about the further tightened corona measures.
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The fact that the Netherlands will go into a 'hard lockdown' from next Sunday (November 28) in the evening is a new setback for the pig market. Demand from the food service channel will therefore decline further. This is despite the fact that an increasing demand for meat is necessary to stimulate the pig market. The situation is not just limited to the Netherlands. Stricter measures are also in the air in neighboring countries, such as Germany.
Hope crushed
Further tightening is of course not desirable for everything and everyone. And the measures certainly come at an unfortunate time for market sentiment. Somewhere there was still hope in the market for a Christmas sprint. In the run-up to the coming festive month, it is noticeable that the demand for meat has increased somewhat. Bone parts in particular are in high demand, due to the major labor shortages in the sector.
It remains to be seen whether demand will improve further in the coming week in view of the stricter measures. Apart from the uncertainty on the meat market, the pig supply remains ample. That also blocks a higher pork price. All in all, it is unlikely that the stable trend on the European pig market will be broken soon. For next week, the DCA Exchange Price 2.0 will remain at €1,19 per kilo for the slaughtered pigs. The price of live pigs is €0,90.
POV: slaughter figures must increase
The Pig Farming Producers Organization (POV) indicates that slaughter figures must increase quickly to prevent weights from increasing too much. According to our own calculations, the slaughter figure must average 313.000 from week to week to keep the slaughter weight below 100 kilos. The target slaughter numbers have not been achieved, with 303.000 pigs hanging in the past week. The average slaughter weight also passed the 100 kilo limit.