The long-awaited and cherished price increases in the pig market have finally started this week. The question that naturally arises now is whether there is more to come.
While the German VEZG quotation continues to stagnate at €2.20 per kilo (for months now), the Dutch quotations are rising. The same is happening in Belgium and Poland. It is a strong signal that the market is picking up during the shortened week of Pentecost. The fact that the German market has remained stable is probably due to another slaughter day being canceled next week in the Catholic states, in observance of Corpus Christi on Thursday, May 30. After that, the tight German pig supply will likely be quickly revealed.
Need for pigs
In the Netherlands, this is already the case. The 286,959 slaughtered pigs in the week after Ascension Day are not large numbers. The slaughter figure will further decrease in the coming weeks, as is historically customary. Meanwhile, slaughterhouses are increasingly in need of full slaughter lines as meat sales pick up. The demand has not exploded yet, but there is a sense of anticipation in the air. Many buyers in retail and foodservice are short on supply, which could provide an extra boost.
UEFA Euro
It is likely that pig prices will continue to rise in the coming weeks. For the Dutch market, it is important that the entrenched German quotations also start to rise. Therefore, slaughterhouse prices may pause next week, only to rise further from June onwards. This coincides with the start of the UEFA Euro in Germany, which is likely to give an additional boost to meat market sales. Crucial to this is the improvement in demand for hams, which are a heavyweight within the carcass. Currently, this is lagging behind, unlike necks and shoulders which have high demand.
DCA Market Price
Based on the increased slaughterhouse quotations in our country, the DCA Market Price 2.0 still has some catching up to do. The price for slaughtered pigs therefore rises by €0.02 to €2.15 per kilo. The price of live pigs increases by €0.01 to €1.69 per kilo.
Click here for an explanation from DCA Market Intelligence on the Benchmark price.