Increased pig and cattle slaughter leading up to Easter increases supply and alleviates tightness in the market. This puts pressure on prices and shifts the dynamics of the trade. Read more about slaughter figures and price pressure on the cattle market.
The number of slaughterings made a final surge at the very last moment heading towards Easter. The slaughter figure rose from 262.088 pigs in week 11 to 271.103. This is the highest slaughter figure since week 6, when the market was still slaughtering away the surplus of pigs around Christmas. However, the slaughter figure remains 7,5% below the level of the same week in 2025.
Significantly more cattle slaughtered
A similar trend is also visible in the cattle market. Between weeks 2 and 7, significantly more (dairy) cows were slaughtered. The slaughter rate normalized up to and including week 11, but in week 12 it rose sharply again to above last year's level. In that week, 11.743 cattle were slaughtered. That is an increase of no less than 14,8% compared to the previous year. The number of slaughterings is also well above the five-year average. The number of slaughterings was no less than 11,3% higher this year.
Producing for cold storage
It is clear that the increased supply has contributed to the recent pressure on slaughter cattle prices in our country. Now that prices are somewhat lower, it is once again attractive for slaughterhouses to slaughter some extra cattle for cold stocks. The expectation is that demand for beef will recover somewhat later this year. Because the market remains scarce at the European level, slaughterhouses generally have confidence in the market to store product.