Bulk prices in the Netherlands have been falling for nine months in a row. Despite quite substantial write-downs in recent months, there is still room for further price declines. Meanwhile, the sale of moisture-rich animal feed is on the rise.
The falling pellet prices since December last year are starting to become almost monotonous, but livestock farmers probably don't care about that. After all, falling feed costs are a welcome counterpart to the significantly lower milk prices. Recently, pig prices have also entered a downward spiral.
At €328,50 per tonne, prices for pork chunks are still above the long-term average, but the difference is becoming smaller. At the same time, the price drops are also becoming somewhat smaller. Compared to August, a decrease of €5 is visible. Sow pellet feed decreased slightly less. A-bulk prices also fell by €5 to €332,50 per tonne. This is all evident from figures from Wageningen Economic Research.
Further price drops
The Compound Feed Price Indicator of Boerenbusiness foresees further price drops until early 2024. Relative to current price levels pork chunk by 7% and beef chunks decrease by another 10%. The also falling grain prices offer room for this. The wheat price on the Matif has fallen to €220 per tonne, which is the lowest level since the end of May. Despite attempts by Russia to prop up grain prices, the world market is under pressure. This is due to ample stocks.
Discussions are currently underway between Turkey and Russia to revive the collapsed grain deal. Although Russia does not directly benefit from this, the country wants to use this as a bargaining chip for other Western sanctions. With a new grain deal, it is likely that supply pressure will increase further. After all, Ukrainian grain can also be shipped more easily. This could theoretically put further pressure on wheat prices.
Moisture-rich animal feeds in demand
The share of moisture-rich animal feed has remained stable at 2022 million tons in 5,48. This despite the shrinkage of the pig herd. The high compound feed prices probably invited livestock farmers to administer more by-products and liquid feed. For many years, the most important moisture-rich animal feeds have been potato products, wheat yeast concentrates, pressed pulp, wheat starch, spent grains, corn gluten feed and cheese whey. Together, these products make up almost 95% of sales of moisture-rich animal feed, as data from the Circular Feed association shows.