The sentiment at the pig market has been anything but optimistic in recent weeks, but the situation is slowly starting to turn around. The better weather, combined with a decreasing pig supply, means that the market can cautiously start thinking about rising again.
In the Netherlands, pig prices have been stable for a few weeks now, after several slaughterhouses lowered their prices in mid-April. In Germany, prices have been flat since early March. The primary sector had hoped that pig prices would start to rise in early spring, but that turned out not to be the case. The meat demand was too ordinary and the pig supply too abundant.
Limited supply
Despite the loss of a series of slaughter days in May, the pig supply is currently certainly not (anymore) excessively abundant. On the contrary, several traders report improved sales opportunities. This is likely related to the better weather, which benefits meat sales. Additionally, a further decline in supply is expected in the coming weeks.
The meat market is stable, with the impacts of the late start of the grilling season cautiously noticeable in the form of increased demand for shoulders. These parts also increased in value this week, as shown in the meat mutations by DCA. Many buyers are short covered, which means that demand can quickly increase once the market starts to move upwards. However, this has not happened yet, but what is not now could certainly come. Especially when the slaughter day losses are no longer a disruptive factor and temperatures rise further.
DCA Market Price
Based on the data, the DCA Market Price remains at €2.12 per kilo for slaughtered pigs. The price for live pigs also remains the same at €1.68 per kilo. Last year, the market convincingly rose from mid-May onwards. Although such a revival is not yet in sight, the chances of an increase have become somewhat greater since this week. The improved sentiment is also underscored by the Internet market, which today showed a positive trend after a long time.
Click here for an explanation by DCA Market Intelligence on the pricing.
