Supply of the pork market still ample for the time being

The pig market is, like last week, reasonably stable again, although the price of one component has changed noticeably. In particular, the supply has determined the sentiment in the market in recent weeks. Just like last week, the price of only one pig component has decreased. Where last week the necks were under pressure, decreasing by 7 cents, it is now the pig cheeks that have dropped by 8 cents. Therefore, there is no longer any real pressure on the markets, although the significant declines of some components indicate that the market is certainly not strong yet. This is also reflected in the market. Despite the declines in meat prices, consumption remains weak, as heard in the market. As a result, an upturn is definitely not in sight. This is also evident from the DCA Market Mutation price. It predicts that the pig price will not change in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the slaughterhouses have confirmed these observations. This also applies internationally. The large Northern European slaughterhouses have not changed their prices. In the Netherlands, an important reason for this is that the supply remains ample for longer than expected. The expectation was that the LVB+ scheme would lead to a noticeably lower number of slaughterings. However, this is not yet the case. The pig backlog from the Christmas holidays has, according to insiders in the market, not yet been worked through. In the first two weeks, this translated into a slaughter number that is approximately equal to last year's level. The expectation is that the slaughter number will be clearly lower once the pig backlog has been cleared. Only then will the effects of the scheme become really visible and it will be clear whether the lower supply will impact the price. The consequence of this situation is that prices in the Netherlands have remained stable across the board. All major Dutch slaughterhouses have kept their prices unchanged. However, it is also a question of whether the culling scheme will have significant price effects. For that, the European market will also need to change. At the moment, the market in Europe is simply ample, which means that a potentially lower Dutch supply can easily fade away. This applies to both the pig market and the pork market. In the Northern European pig market, the supply from particularly Denmark remains substantial, but in Great Britain and Germany, the market is relatively ample as well. Spanish pressure continues to characterize the meat market Meanwhile, the meat supply from Spain remains high, as exports to various third countries are still impossible. The effects of this are still noticeable in the market, although this does not lead to new movements. In other words, the pressure from lower Spanish prices is not really increasing, but it is also not decreasing simultaneously. This is also reflected in the primary sector. For the third week in a row, the price remains at €1 per kilo (based on live pigs).