Piglets continue to rise, doubts about the pig price

The spring recovery in the Dutch piglet market continues this week. The pig market is somewhat more uncertain in this regard. This can also influence the piglet trade. The shortage of piglets continues for the time being due to good sales opportunities both domestically and abroad. However, the Spanish market shows signs of saturation. The numbers remain solid, but the prices on the free market are not rising further, so it is reported. The export figures to Spain showed an upward trend in recent weeks and peaked in week 10 above 50,000 pieces. The peak had already been reached in the past two years. Again plus 3 euros Across Europe, piglet prices are still rising further for now. Based on the submissions, the DCA BestPigletPrice increases by €3 to €57 per piglet, just like last week. This is in line with the average of the submissions. The VEZG quotation rises this week by €5 to €56 per piglet. The reason the German market is rising more sharply is due to the stronger rising pig price. Last week, the quotation there increased by €0.10 per kilogram, while Dutch slaughterhouses raised it by €0.05 per kilogram. Although the markets are historically strongly linked, differences also exist. One explanation is that Dutch slaughterhouses are more dependent on exports. German slaughterhouses, on the other hand, benefit from strong domestic demand that picks up towards Easter. Will the price difference become smaller? The question now is whether Dutch slaughterhouses will raise their prices this week to reduce the difference with Germany. The expectation is that the German pig price will not rise further this week and that the last increase has already occurred before Easter. After next week, there will be two broken slaughter weeks. Therefore, the supply is likely sufficient in relation to the demand. The strong demand for piglets is expected to weaken slightly in the coming weeks as a result. Many traders believe that Dutch slaughterhouses are now in a position to reduce the price difference with Germany. Based on the submissions, the DCA Beurs Mutation price increases by €0.05 per kilogram.