Christmas Cheer Comes Early for Global Pig Prices

By Chris Harris, Editor-in-Chief of ThePigSite. Our snapshot of the ongoing global pig industry trends as reported in the December 2011 Whole Hog Brief. To read the full detailed analysis, including all the commentary and graphical data, subscribe to the publication.
calendar icon 28 December 2011
clock icon 4 minute read

Pig prices for the major pig meat exporters are continuing to move up and records are being broken, according to the latest edition of Whole Hog.

Whole Hog believes that year on year and week on week, there is little sign of prices weakening, although the pre-Christmas market for meat is slightly distorting the market at present.

However, the pig price cycle has taken seasonality into account and export markets as the main driver for the longest ever upward phase in the price cycle.

In Europe, the Whole Hog reports that there has been a small increase of one per cent in the Dutch breeding herd and total pig numbers.

The number of weaners rose by 2.1 per cent and the number of piglets by 1.5 per cent.

While the numbers of sows in pig and sows with piglets was down, the number of gilts has risen by 18 per cent, on the back of a 23 per cent fall last year.

In Denmark, both Danish Crown and Tican have reported significant growth in sales and profits and this has given an increase in the bonus they pay to their farmers.

Danish Crown has seen sales up by 14.6 per cent and Tican a rise in sales of 13 per cent.

However, the Whole Hog reports that there has been a large fall in the Spanish breeding herd.

The census figures show a drop of 17.2 per cent in the breeding herd and piglet and weaner numbers fell by 2.9 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively.

Pig Market in Europe Sets a Firm Tone

Year-on-year pig prices in Europe have risen for the third consecutive month in all the major producing countries.

The Whole Hog forecasts that a drop in temperatures in Europe will also help to boost sales and prices.

Only Hungary has not recorded an upward trend in prices.

The FAO has reported rises on food and meat prices throughout the year around the world and it has seen a boom in international trade and a fall in supplies.

Whole Hog says the FAO meat price index rose 180 points earlier this year and although meat prices have eased, pig meat prices are still 18 per cent above last year's levels.

Disease in Asia has constrained production and China has also seen a slowdown, according to the FAO data.

Canada's Pork Imports Jump – Exports Grow

Stats Canada has shown that the country's pork exports have grown this year with sales up 3.2 per cent for the first three quarters.

Pig meat imports to Canada also showed an increase, up by 23.5 per cent in the year to the end of November.

US pig meat exports for the first three quarters of the year have shown a rise of 17 per cent and, according to the Whole Hog, this growth in overseas trade is having a knock-on effect on domestic sales and supplies.

Imports to the US in the first nine months of the year have fallen by 7.9 per cent.

Australia's pig meat industry is continuing to hold its own. While exports fell by just over one per cent, imports also declined by 4.9 per cent.

In Asia, the US has continued to grow its market share in the Japanese pig meat sector, although Japan's imported pig meat stocks fell in September by about 16 per cent year-on-year.

Imports are rising slightly showing a 0.6 per cent growth.

In South Korea, the boom in pig meat imports in continuing, with the market showing a 76.4 per cent rise year on year.

However, Whole Hog says that a year on from the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in South Korea, the boom in trade is now expected to start to decline.

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.