Analysis Pigs
Pig prices to drop before Christmas
Even before Christmas, several Dutch slaughterhouses have slashed the price of pigs. This has left the market in a state of shock, as it was thought that price reductions could be averted at least until the new year. However, the large supply due to the unfavourable holiday season has proven to be too big an obstacle.
Read this article?
Become a subscriber and get instant access
Choose the subscription that suits you
Vion kept the pig price unchanged on Monday, but in the days that followed, the other slaughterhouses in our country unanimously lowered it by €0,04 per kilo. The Belgian Danis implemented a similar reduction. In Germany, the quotations will remain unchanged for the time being, after the sow prices already took a big hit last week. The Spanish quotation will also remain unchanged for the time being. The urge to lower by Dutch slaughterhouses is therefore often difficult for market insiders to digest.
High slaughter figures
At the same time, it is not a bolt from the blue. The supply of pigs is simply too large for that with the broken weeks approaching, although there has been quite a lot of slaughtering in recent weeks. With over 317.000 pigs, the slaughter figure rose last week to the highest level of this year. The average slaughter weight took a big step down and fell by 2,4 kilos to 97,80 kilos. In other years, the decrease in slaughter weight was often less significant. Presumably, lighter pigs were also brought forward to avert a drop in the pig price. In Germany, the slaughter figure rose last week to 783.000 pigs, which is also high.
The expected impulses from the meat market in the run-up to Christmas have not materialised this year. There was demand for luxury parts such as tenderloins, but not enough to significantly increase the value of the pig carcass. The turnaround has already started this week and the carcass value has fallen by 0,026 per kilo of slaughter weight, because the hams were quite went downThis means that slaughterhouses have also recovered some margins with the reductions.
Stock market price included in reduction
Following the lower slaughterhouse prices, the DCA Beursprijs 2.0 will also receive a reduction. The price of slaughtered pigs will drop by €0,04 to €1,85 per kilo. The price of live pigs will drop by €0,03 to €1,45 per kilo. It is still difficult to estimate whether the market will come under further pressure in early 2025.
Click here for an explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the listing.