FMD pushes pig market deeper into depressed state

Just like last week, the VEZG quotation drops by €0,10 to €1,72 per piglet. The VEZG piglet price also dropped by €5 last week to €55. Normally, the pig market often calms down in mid-January. However, due to the outbreak of FMD, this is not the case for the time being, despite the fact that the virus has not yet spread further.

Export Bans 
In the meantime, two export restrictions have been imposed on German pork. South Korea has definitively stopped importing and other Asian destinations such as Japan and South Korea may follow. In addition, the United Kingdom has stopped importing German (pork) meat, in addition to importing dairy. With this, the country hopes to prevent the introduction of FMD, although they also expect the import ban to disrupt their own market situation with regard to the supply of supermarkets. 

The British measure in particular is putting pressure on the pig market, which was also less expected than the Korean import ban. Germany is the third largest supplier of pork to the UK with a market share of just under 20%, according to AHDB data.

Dutch market also declining
Despite the fact that the Dutch market is not experiencing any concrete hindrance from FMD, the outbreak is certainly having an impact on the already weak sentiment. For example, the quotations of Van Rooi and Compaxo are falling this week by €0,05 to €1,54 per kilo. Vion is also reducing by €0,05 to €1,63 per kilo. The meat company says in an explanation: Due to the loss of important export destinations for Germany, there is a large meat surplus there that is being offered to various surrounding countries for considerably less money. The DCA meat parts prices remained unchanged at the beginning of this week.