Pig market leaves period of unrest behind for a moment

After a few restless weeks, the pig market is entering somewhat calmer waters. The pig prices have found solid ground again. With Christmas coming up, there is quite a good demand for pigs. The outlook for the period after Christmas is still vague. The German pig price moved sideways again this week, and the Dutch slaughterhouses have responded accordingly. In Spain, the market is still under pressure due to the recent outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF), but it could have been worse. The Spanish pig price dropped yesterday by €0.060 to €1.040 per kilo, where a decrease of €0.100 was expected as it had been in the previous weeks. On the spot market, there is good demand for pork parts. The prices of Dutch pork parts have taken a substantial step up at the beginning of this week, as shown in the DCA-Pork Parts Monitor. On average, the carcass price has increased by €0.24 cent per kilo. This is a clear trend reversal from the last thirteen weeks. During that period, an increase of more than 1 cent in a week had not occurred anymore. Until last week, the average carcass price was as much as €0.18 in the negative. Demand for meat When looking at the bigger picture, the increase is initially surprising. The pig price is indeed under significant pressure because the meat market is flooded with Spanish pork that cannot enter the global market due to export restrictions. However, in domestic retail channels, Spanish pork is not (always) wanted, which means there is still good demand for typical Christmas parts like the loins and also the collars. Consequently, the bellies and shoulders increased as well. However, the demand is short-lived and will sharply decline just before Christmas. Thus, it does not raise the pig price but does help to stabilize the market. Increasing slaughter numbers Due to the cancellation of a few slaughter days, a considerable pig traffic jam is looming in Northwest Europe towards 2026. At the same time, a substantial amount of pigs were slaughtered in the past few weeks. The Dutch slaughter number reached 293,552 last week, the highest level since this spring. With the stop program, it was thought that crossing the 300,000 mark would be an insurmountable hurdle, but the difference is quite small. This week, the slaughter number is expected to be lower due to a major breakdown at a Vion slaughter location. All in all, there is no reason to tamper with the DCA Market Price. The quotation for slaughtered pigs remains at €1.44 per kilo and the quotation for live pigs at €1.11 per kilo.