Unrest in the pig market continues to play out

Calm has not yet returned to the market, although prices suggest so. The action by Vion to tinker with the guaranteed price met with considerable resistance. The intervention by Van Loon to stop purchasing on the DCA Stock Exchange Price 2.0 also raises questions. These are signals that pig prices are hitting slaughterhouses hard, reinforced by other costs that are also not lenient. The announced reorganizations at Tönnies and Danish Crown also confirm that the meat sector is under tension.

Meat sales
Meat sales show two faces. Sales towards the fresh segment are continuing reasonably well at the beginning of autumn, despite the fact that the purchasing power of consumers is under pressure. However, stockpiling meat is another matter, as freezing costs have risen high. The pork market overall feels less convincing than in recent weeks. For example, there are currently no buyers who would buy a batch of hams from a speculative point of view.   

At the same time, the tight pig supply provides a counterbalance. In Germany the slaughter figure remains below the level of 750.000 slaughters and in the Netherlands we barely exceed 300.000 pigs. Compared to the slaughter capacity in our country, these are easily manageable numbers. 

DCA Benchmark Price - Pigs
The coming weeks will reveal which direction the market is heading. Somehow the market feels shaky. However, slaughterhouses are currently not putting pressure on pig prices. The idea is that this will only encourage a price drop on the meat market. For next week, the DCA Exchange Price 2.0 will decrease, based on the statements, by €0,01 to €1,95 per kilo for the pigs slaughtered. The price of live pigs drops by €0,01 to €1,55 per kilo.

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