Vion is desperate to return to the black this year. With new management and a completed restructuring program, there are no more excuses. To achieve this, pork prices will have to suffer. This week, the meat company is once again cutting its share price, without any immediate justification. And this isn't the first time this year.
In 2024, Vion posted a loss of €81,3 million, but better times are on the way. In the first half of 2025, the company finally returned to profit, as was announced with some pride this summer. Due to the reorganization, many overhead costs have been cut in recent years. Yet, it's apparently still a fine line to reach a positive balance for 2025 as a whole.
Six cents down
The lowering of the pork price cannot be seen in isolation. This afternoon, it happened again: the meat company lowered the price by €0,06 to €1,44 per kilo. They cited the oversupply of pork in Europe and a deterioration in Asian markets. Furthermore, the market is not yet expected to rebound towards Christmas, it is claimed. This reduction means there will be no recovery this year anyway.
Forced
All in all, Vion's intervention seems forced. Although the mood on the meat markets is indeed subdued this autumn, the parts prices DCA Market Intelligence also shows no further deterioration in recent weeks. In fact, the meat trade is even reporting a slight improvement. For example, pork necks and tenderloins rose slightly in price this week. Nevertheless, Vion is lowering its purchase price to its lowest level since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Initiator
It is not the first time this year that Vion has initiated lower prices. Start August Vion also lowered it. When the rest of the Dutch slaughterhouse guild failed to do so, the reduction was corrected again. Beginning oktober Vion was already ahead of the curve, although other slaughterhouses in the Netherlands followed a week later. And now, in mid-November, Vion is once again leading the way in lowering its ranking.
Incidentally, other Dutch slaughterhouses are willingly following in the wake of the market leader this afternoon. So Vion isn't alone, but is once again taking the lead. Something its competitors likely would never have done, given that slaughterhouses are currently struggling to obtain pigs. Meanwhile, the German pork price remains the same, as are prices elsewhere in Europe.
Maintaining balance
Of course, there are developments in the market that are putting pressure on us. Take the strong euro and the Chinese tariffs on pork, which are also hitting Vion quite hard. Yet, from a distance, one gets the impression that Vion's purchasing department is being dictated to by the accountants who must maintain the balance sheet at all costs. The goal of finally returning to the black this year trumps everything else.