EU and Spanish Hog Markets
EU and SPAIN - From 17 to 21 March, Genesus attended the 12th FIGAN 2015 (International Trade Fair), held at the Zaragoza Fairgrounds. The show was very well attended by people from the industry and this year it welcomed 883 exhibitors, writes Mercedes Vega, General Director for Spain, Italy and Portugal.Genesus was there with a representative booth.
We had the opportunity to interact with all sectors involved in the swine industry, fulfilling our goal of introducing Genesus to the market and make available to all hog producers our genetics and our technology.
Genesus contributed not only with the commercial booth, but also with the conference about "The Pig of the Future and its Profitability" presented by Dr Carlos Peralta, which illustrated the economic benefits of using Genesus Genetics.
In addition to this important international event, on March 4 and 5 we had the opportunity to attend the VII ANVEPI (National Association of Swine Veterinarians Iberian) FORUM in Zafra.
There were over 400 attendees at this conference. Having had a heavy financial crisis in the sector since 2007 (crises closely associated with the "Spanish brick crisis").
We had the opportunity to see a more positive and optimistic attitude from this Spanish emblematic production representing 10 per cent of the total pig production. In recent years, there has been a clear expansion, incorporating producers and investing people on what in Spain is called “the white pig” with new approaches of enormous significance for the future of the pork sector.
Markets
After 2014 in which the margin of kg sold was €0.098, according to SIP Consulters, we can see that in the first quarter of 2015 the selling price of hogs in Spain has been below the cost of production.
We started the year with the continuous drop in prices that we were dragging from the last half of 2014, to which the wide range of animals with high weights that followed the Christmas holidays.
In this situation, it has followed on February a price increase on the Lonja de Mercolleida, slaughter weights down (although the highest in recent years weights) which made the price recover and it has ended March with a stabilization, even though being with a decrease in the days of slaughter in Easter.
This second quarter we have started with a price of €1,154 / kilo liveweight closing last week. It is being already in values above the cost of production, which has given the market a certain tranquility, after the discomfort that existed in Europe, producers are working on their sales below cost price, resulting, in the case of France, attacking and vandalizing pork trucks from Spanish origin.
Now we can see a better balance between demand and supply across the EU, due to better prices in Germany, driving up the value of the hog.
In the case of Spain, this balance comes as a result of an increase in meat exports by one per cent. The 10 per cent drop in exports to the EU has been offset by the increase by 54 per cent to third countries.
Nearly a third of exports are already outside the EU. In January 2015 Spain exported nearly 132,000 tons of pork, it is 200 tons of export less than January 2014. The euro remains weak and this weakness is working well for the European Union exports to third countries.
Other factor that has led to this scenario in a small extent, is the operation of private pork cold storage. This measure taken by the European Commission has been to help relieve pressure on the market for pork EU, derived from the combined effect of barriers to Russian exports and increased production of the Union. This storage measure, representing three per cent of the EU slaughtered in March last year. The 47,000 tons representing this three per cent, have been hired in the EU in the first month of its entry into force.
The first country with 10,300 contracted tons, is Spain. This amount is equivalent to four per cent of slaughtered during the month of March last year.
In Portugal we can note that has followed the lead of the European Union, with a balance between supply and domestic demand as well as its import market with Spain as a reference. Last week closed the Bolsa de Montijo do Porco, with a trend on carcass E 57 per cent: +0.011, rising to a value of €2.11/kilo carcass weight.