Chinese tariffs push pig market significantly down

The European pig market is greatly affected by the new Chinese import duties on pork from the European Union. Combined with a plentiful supply of pigs, this leads to a significant decrease in the pig price. The pig price is falling more sharply than the average meat price. The European market is severely disrupted by the Chinese tariffs following the anti-dumping investigation. The Chinese government has imposed import tariffs of 15.6% to 62.4% on various European companies. This makes it considerably more challenging to fully utilize a pig carcass, as many cuts can only be profitably sold in the Chinese market. In addition, the market remains relatively ample. A large number of pigs are being slaughtered in Northern European countries, particularly in Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, where the supply is higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, the Dutch slaughter supply has been around last year's level for the past two weeks, resulting in a clear reduction of the earlier experienced tightness. Pig market under significant pressure As a result, pig prices have dropped significantly in most European countries. In Spain and France, the prices have seasonally decreased, but the sharpest decline occurred in the Netherlands. The DCA market price fell by as much as 15 cents per kilo in the past three weeks, while the German VEZG was only reduced by 10 cents and then remained stable. Only in Italy is there a slight increase visible: at the livestock market in Modena, the pig price rose by 2 cents per kilo. While the price in Germany remains stable, the Dutch market has not yet stabilized. For the fourth consecutive week, all slaughterhouses are reducing prices equally. Overall, prices dropped by 20 cents during this period. The Netherlands has been hard hit by the Chinese tariffs. All major Dutch slaughterhouses are affected: Van Rooi, Compaxo, and Westford each face import duties of 20%, while Vion has an even higher rate of 32.7%. This has significant consequences for the Netherlands. Data from Eurostat shows that the Netherlands exported a total of 198,498 tons of pork to China in 2024. Danish Crown is also affected, with a tariff of 31.3%. The company has pushed its prices down more sharply in the first three weeks: the slaughter quotation dropped a total of 17 cents during that period. Dutch market gains margin In addition to the slaughter price, the pork price is also under significant pressure. According to the DCA Pork Monitor, carcass prices fell by €0.10 per kilo in the past three weeks. That is a considerable drop, but still only about half of the average price decrease for slaughter pigs in the Netherlands. This clearly improves the margins for slaughterhouses.