Tight pig supply is a concern for the future

With slaughter figures briefly exceeding 250.000 pigs, the number of pigs being slaughtered in the Netherlands is low from week to week. Nor are the pigs heavy. Slaughtering usually begins to rise again from this period onwards, but the question remains how many pigs will be available in the Netherlands in the coming months. With animal numbers having fallen back to the level of the 70's In the long term, structural tightness is no longer a maybe.

Poor meat sales
Slaughterhouses are aware of this situation but are perfectly content with the current limited supply. This is partly due to the summer holidays, when slaughter plans are usually on hold. Furthermore, meat sales are still downright disappointing – after all, there hasn't been much in the way of nice BBQ weather these past few weeks. There's also little or no desire to freeze. In other words, the tight pork supply isn't a problem at the moment.

The question is whether this will remain the case once the holidays are over and demand for meat likely recovers somewhat, although a significant increase in demand is not in sight. Sooner or later, the structurally tighter supply of pork in the Netherlands will stimulate the market again, although sentiment remains European-driven and also depends on the global market situation. 

Stable market
All in all, the market situation is currently stable, albeit somewhat dull, and appropriate for this time of year. The DCA Exchange Price 2.0 remains stable at €1,93 per kilo for slaughtered pigs. The price of live pigs is also moving sideways at €1,50 per kilo.

Click here for an explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the listing.