EU Pig Prices: Bottom Now Reached, Consolidations Starting

The quotations mostly can be maintained on the current level, apart from price reductions experienced in France and Denmark. The sideways movement of the German quotation is of vital importance, having a stabilising effect on other European quotations.

Compared with those in other European countries, the French pig keepers had to register the deepest fall in prices over the past six weeks with a corrected 23.6 cents. France slipped to be last on the list among the five major pig-keeping EU countries, within the European price structure. Owing to the public holiday on 1 November, France had fewer pigs slaughtered. In view of decreasing slaughter weights, backlog supply is not expected to pile up in France.

For the second time in a row, the price went down in Denmark. Denmark now ranks third again behind Germany.

Trend for the German market: Pigs as feedstock are very much in demand by the purchasing side. Even if some German federal states had a day off for a public holiday on 1 November, backlog supply is not a problem. The lowest price seems to be reached, and with the pigs mature for slaughter continuing to be sold smoothly, the price trend is expected to remain steady at least. On top of that, further impulse for demand is granted by the beginning pre-Christmas business.