The ISN reports that the quantity of pigs reaching the market continues to decline across Europe. Despite the attempts of some German packers to push through house prices, ultimately they stood no chance and the leading German price was able to push through the recent price increase without difficulty.

The Dutch quotation has caught our attention this week with a noticeable improvement of 3 cents. Despite this increase, the Danish quotation remains at the top and the structure of the five largest pig-producing EU member countries remains unchanged.

Adding some instability to the pork market globally is the spread of the novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan province, China, and has since had confirmed cases globally. The isolation of some provinces and the evacuation of others has greatly affected demand from Chinese consumers and heightened control measures at ports has disrupted import and export of all products, including pork.

Market experts expect normal trading to resume once spread of the virus has been calmed but there will need to be a catch up. According to ISN, the effects of African swine fever (ASF) on China's pig production capacity means that demand for imported pork remains high.