German butchers pluses, haus price off the table

The pig trade is extremely difficult in mid-January. Traders report that they cannot place nearly all available animals ready for slaughter and that they have to move around a lot. They also indicate that they are regularly informed at the last minute about changing (reduced) slaughter plans, with major consequences for the number of animals that can be delivered. Slaughterhouses are experiencing significant capacity problems due to a shortage of staff, including due to the spreading omikron variant.

Slaughter at a fairly low level
In the Netherlands, more than 1 pigs were slaughtered in week 301.000. The average slaughtered weight was a high level of 101,6 kilos. With the escalating number of corona infections and the tight slaughter plans, it is not obvious that that number will increase quickly. The number of pigs slaughtered in Germany was not yet known last week due to delays in collecting data.

The number of fattening pigs exported to Germany has fluctuated around 7.500 in recent weeks. The low export figures ensure that Dutch slaughterhouses do not have to make any effort to fill the hooks.

Meat trade bad
In addition to the large supply of animals ready for slaughter, the weak trade in pork is also hampering the market. After an average of 4 euro cents per kilo was surrendered last week for the entire carcass, minuses are again being recorded for various parts this week. For example, ribs (-3,33 cents), necks (-3,67 cents) and through (-1,33 cents) are again sold cheaper. The entire carcass therefore loses 0,68 cents per kilo in value. The full European meat market is being severely hampered by corona restrictive measures and there is still a lot of urgency on the export markets.

The German VEZG quotation will be adjusted downwards by €0,03 this week to €1,20 per kilo of slaughtered weight. The German slaughterers accept this level and also quote €1,20 per kilo of slaughtered weight. For the first time in weeks, the premium for free pigs is off the table.