Analysis Pigs & Pork
Dutch pig price falls before Christmas
Before Christmas, several Dutch slaughterhouses have cut the pig price. This comes as a cold shower for the market, as it was thought that price reductions could be avoided at least until the new year. However, the ample supply due to the unfavorable holidays proves to be a major stumbling block.
Vion kept the pig price unchanged on Monday, but in the following days, the other slaughterhouses in our country unanimously lowered it by €0.04 per kilo. The Belgian Danis implemented a similar reduction. In Germany, the prices remain unchanged for the time being, after the sow prices took a significant hit last week. The Spanish price also remains unchanged for now. The eagerness of Dutch slaughterhouses to lower prices is often difficult for market insiders to digest.
High slaughter figures
At the same time, it is not a bolt from the blue. The supply of pigs is simply too abundant with the holiday season approaching, although there has been quite a bit of slaughtering in recent weeks. With over 317,000 pigs slaughtered last week, the slaughter figure reached the highest level of the year. The average slaughter weight took a big step down, decreasing by 2.4 kilos to 97.80 kilos. In other years, the decrease in slaughter weight was often less significant. Presumably, lighter pigs were also brought forward to prevent a drop in pig prices. In Germany, the slaughter figure rose to 783,000 pigs last week, which is also high.
The expected impulses from the meat market in the run-up to Christmas have been absent this year. The demand for luxury parts such as tenderloins was there, but not enough to significantly increase the value of the pig carcass. Since this week, the turnaround has already begun, and the carcass value decreased by 0.026 per kilo of slaughter weight, as the hams decreased significantly. This means that slaughterhouses have also restored some margin with the reductions.
Market price also lowered
Following the lower slaughterhouse prices, the DCA Beursprijs 2.0 also faces a reduction. The price of slaughtered pigs decreases by €0.04 to €1.85 per kilo. The price of live pigs decreases by €0.03 to €1.45 per kilo. It is still difficult to estimate whether the market will come under further pressure at the beginning of 2025.
