Analysis Pigs
Grill season takes hold on pig market
A sense of optimism is taking hold on the pig market as temperatures rise rapidly in Europe and spring is finally approaching. Supermarkets are preparing for the BBQ season and are scaling up meat purchases. It remains to be seen whether consumers will actually buy more meat, but that uncertainty does not stand in the way of a higher pig price.
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With a broken week ahead, the German pork price (VEZG) took a significant step higher on Wednesday. This is a signal that in this market, with tight meat supplies and ditto pig supply, little needs to be done to get things moving. The large slaughterhouses followed, although this was not a good idea. A tight supply means that they have to follow suit.
Catching up
The stability in recent months was due to the lack of sales incentives, but the better weather immediately breaks this. Supermarkets assume that barbecue demand will catch up in the coming weeks, as the grilling season started relatively late this year. The volumes requested from slaughterhouses and meat processors have increased considerably in recent days. Partly also because of the long Pentecost weekend ahead. "The meat market has really started to move," says an insider. By-catch is that South Korea has (partly) dropped the import restrictions on German pork. This gives German slaughterhouses the prospect of better square value, although the effect is not very great.
The question now is whether consumers will actually consume more meat on the grill, or whether the effect of this is overestimated. Due to the better weather, it is reasonable to expect some additional demand, but it should not be forgotten that pork has been subject to significant inflation in recent months. A slap on the wrist is therefore still appropriate.
DCA Scholarship Award
Although the feeling of optimism among consumers has yet to be confirmed, pig prices are already making gains. The German pork price has already increased the existing record and the limit is also being pushed upwards in the Netherlands. Based on the statements, the DCA Exchange Price 2.0 for slaughtered pigs increases by €0,05 to €2,30 per kilo. The price of live pigs also increases by €0,04 to €1,82 per kilo. Slaughterhouses consider this increase to be on the high side with regard to meat sales. Europe is losing out to Brazil and the United States, particularly on the export markets. At the same time, several slaughterhouses also slaughter on Saturdays, something that would not be done if it was not profitable.
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