Although the pig market is looking good from an underlying point of view, the holiday period is proving to be more difficult than expected. Dutch slaughterhouses took the initiative this week with price reductions and the negative mood seems to be spreading to Germany.
A week ago we wrote that the pig market started squeaking and creaking. It now appears that this has not been without damage, with price reductions ranging from 4 to 6 cents. The other side of the coin is that the prices are still excellent. However, the feeling of decline predominates at the moment. Especially since the market is taking further price reductions into account in the coming weeks. This is also what slaughterhouses are hinting at, because they say margins are still under pressure.
Whether this is actually the case remains a mystery. It is true that the meat parts also move downwards. The price pressure also comes from that angle, because the pig supply is and remains tight. Due to the extreme heat in Southern Europe, consumption there is lower than expected, meat traders claim. The Northwest European market actually lacks the barbecue impulses. And export demand outside Europe has been letting the market down all year.
Tight supply is increasing again slightly
The supply may be tight, but the slaughter figures are slowly showing an upward trend again. This is in line with the seasonal pattern. In the Netherlands, more than 250.000 pigs were slaughtered again last week, with an average slightly higher slaughter weight. In Germany, the slaughter figure is approaching 700.000 pigs. As mentioned, these are not numbers that can put pressure on the market. Still, the market feels sticky. This is also because the slaughter plans are on the back burner due to the holiday schedules.
Sow price down
The market will probably get into a better rhythm after the summer holidays. Both in terms of slaughter plans and meat sales. Until then, the market is facing headwinds. The German market is also not unshakable, given that the Internet exchange also fell by €0,03 today to €2,58 per kilo. Moreover, Tönnies simply deducted 10 cents from the sow price, saying in the same breath that the pig price is no longer sustainable. We will know more next Wednesday.
Based on the statements, the DCA Exchange Price for the slaughtered pigs will decrease by €0,07 to €2,34 per kilo. The price of live pigs drops by €0,05 to €1,86.
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