Trade expects higher prices for pigs and piglets

The German meat company Tönnies is resisting a bit, but the trade is convinced that pig prices will rise again this week. The demand for piglets is high, so more money is being paid for them. For most traders, it is a settled matter that pig prices will increase by 5 cents per kilo this week. Some in the trade maintain a slightly more cautious estimate, while other traders aim for a price increase of 7 to 8 cents per kilo. All in all, the DCA Beurs Mutation Price this week shows an increase of 5 cents per kilo. This expectation means that the pig price will rise by 5 cents for the fourth consecutive week. This is also urgently needed, respond several traders. Slaughterhouse Tönnies is trying to temper the mood in the market. The slaughterhouse speaks of a large supply of slaughter-ready animals. Moreover, the meat trade is lagging behind the increase in purchase prices. The slaughterhouse does see a decrease in slaughter weights, but the company is quick to say that this has no repercussions in the market. On the other hand, the trade points to rising premiums and a significant shortage of meat pigs. This is particularly true in the Netherlands, but numbers are also not very large in Germany. The slaughterhouses are very eager to have the animals, is the reaction in the trade. In the Netherlands, there was especially a very small supply of slaughter-ready meat pigs in week 8 (the third week of February). Pig farmers are holding back on fewer animals to possibly benefit from a higher price in the following week. This strategy has clearly succeeded, as the pig price rose by 5 cents per kilo. In the week after the low point in slaughter numbers, a few more animals were offered to the slaughterhouses. However, supplies remain particularly tight. In the last week of February, the supply was still 10% smaller than in the same week last year. Piglets in high demandThen there are the piglets. They are in high demand, and therefore their price is also rising further. Spain has significantly increased its purchases over the past week. According to some traders, Spain is now hitting the brakes a bit, while others respond that this sales trend will continue for another four weeks, and there is no sign of any delay. There is a significant difference between piglets intended for fixed contracts and piglets in the free market for export. Much higher prices are being paid for export piglets, where premiums are rising very high. The developments in pig prices will ultimately determine whether these extremely high premiums turn out to be temporary or whether the piglet price can largely catch up. According to one trader, the current differences are causing a lot of unrest in the market.