Piglet market under pressure as pig prices collapse

The sharp decline in pig prices last week is accelerating the downward trend in the piglet market. Finishing pig farmers were already reluctant to place new batches and are now staying out of the market altogether. The rapid price drop in the pig market is hitting hard. Normally, the market strengthens at this time of year, but this year the opposite is happening. In addition, a €0.10 drop is considered substantial, especially for finishing pig farmers who placed relatively expensive piglets earlier this year. There is a growing sense in the market that the limit of what finishing pig farmers are willing to pay has now been reached, or even exceeded. As a result, farmers are delaying the placement of new piglets, while breeders are actually stepping up deliveries because of the downturn in the market. Piglet sales stagnate The result is a growing backlog of piglets. Pressure is mounting because two slaughter days will be lost in the coming weeks, first due to Ascension Day and later due to Whit Monday. Exports to Spain have also slowed this week. Spanish demand has clearly weakened in recent weeks, with prices for free batches now well below €50 per piglet. Based on the reports, the DCA BestPigletPrice is falling by €5 this week to €49.50 per piglet. The German VEZG quotation fell by €6 on Friday to €52 per piglet. The expectation in the market is that the market has not yet bottomed out, because finishing pig farmers continue to hold back. Only a recovery in pig prices can prevent further pressure on the piglet market, but there are no signs of market recovery. For now, stabilization of pig prices appears to be the best that can be achieved, resulting in a stable DCA Beurs Mutation price this week. Meanwhile, pork cut prices are also under heavy pressure in response to the lower pig prices, according to the benchmarks of DCA Market Intelligence.