Dear readers,

we have some new green signs on the pig and piglet price table, but other good news as well:

• Two vaccines co-developed by US scientists being tested in large pilot schemes by Vietnamese companies are showing „very promising” results. Both AVAC ASF LIVE and NAVET-ASFVAC vaccines have received approval in Vietnam for pilot commercial use.
• At the beginning of 2023, significantly less pork was stored in German cold stores than last year. According to the Association of German Cold Stores and Logistics Stores (VDKL), stocks have fallen by more than half on average in the first four months compared to the previous year. Since May last year, there has been a sharp decline in pork stocks. Among product groups, pork is now in fourth place with almost 10% of all goods stored instead of first place as it was in April 2022.
• A research commissioned by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) set out to understand shoppers’ behavior towards vegetarian and vegan products that are designed to compete with meat. It found there is potential for confusion for shoppers, with shopping bays where meat and meat-free products were very mixed together being seen as potentially confusing by 52% of consumers.60% of shoppers agreed non-meat products should be displayed in a different place to meat products. Consumers also agreed meat-free products are trying to replicate meat, with 69% agreeing plant-based products try to describe themselves in a way that sounds like meat. Fifty per cent of shoppers agree that meat-free products shouldn’t use words like ‘steak’ or ‘bacon’, and 47% feel they shouldn’t use ‘sausage’ and ‘burger’. Also, the research found 75% of shoppers think the amount of detail on meat labels is about right, in comparison this is only 66% for plant-based packages.
• The University of Córdoba (UCO) coordinates the project called Sauvolibe, which investigates how the fermentation process and carbohydrates influence the quality of sausages derived from the Iberian pig, in search of healthier Iberian sausages. The project, as reported by the UCO in a note, is based on the premise that sausages made from acorn-fed Iberian pork are a healthier option compared to other types of processed meat.
• The University of Murcia (UMU) has developed, together with pig farm and animal feed companies, an applied research project whose objective is to identify a natural alternative that allows eliminating the administration of pharmacological products to pigs for the prevention and/or treatment of neonatal coccidiosis and that, in addition, stimulates the immunity of animals and favors the balance of their intestinal microbiota.

Events calendar:

• Avepomur(Association of Porcine Veterinarians) technical conference will be held between 14-15 June 2023, at the University of Murcia.

CHANGE

            Prices are changing again, on an upward trend. Approximately a half year ago, in some business meetings, I was expecting a quotation of 2,5 €/kg on the German market, by June. Well, we are close…And some markets are even over this price level!

            Why is this possible? More and more data are becoming accurate, when looking on the pig numbers. I strongly believe that data from the Covid crisis period were not reflecting the reality.

• According to Eurostat, slaughterings in EU-27 countries fell by 7.7% in the first quarter of 2023, representing a drop of 4.7 million pigs. Even more, slaughter volume was 10.8% lower than in Q1 2021, a difference of just under of 5.42 million tons.
• Over the first 4 months of the year, Danish slaughterings are down 16.5%, i.e. over 1 million fewer pigs than in 2022 over the same period. According to a Danish pig farmer met last week, sow numbers are expected to decrease by 19-20% . No wander that we see consolidation of the piglet and pig trading at the Danes, SPF taking over Roosgard.
• There are 1.4 million(9%) fewer pigs slaughtered in Spain, some slaughterhouses are choosing to reduce their activity over 4 days. To compensate for the low supply, farmers are marketing heavier pigs, with the result that average weights are at record levels, currently 3 kilos higher than the same references from last year.
• An 8% decrease to around 11.10 million pigs is reported for Germany. 

If we look back to the self-sufficiency/export balance of the EU pork market, is not inappropriate to expect that the number of pigs will hardly meet the internal market demand, as long as Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands are reducing pig production on political grounds, while Poland and Romania are not managing too well the ASF(also due to political issues).

One other sign of the changing market situation: last week one of the largest piglet and pig traders from the East-European region, Hunland, inaugurated its first sow farm. After over 30 years of trading it is time to go into production!

Pig farmers and pork producers should join efforts and have their say in terms of policies and pricing. Are you prepared for the change?

European pig and piglet prices: HW= Hot weight; L= live weight;

COUNTRY	PIG(EUR)	TREND	PIGLET(EUR)	TREND	OBSERVATION
GERMANY	2,43 HW		91/25 kg
NETHERLANDS	2,16-2,48 HW		78/25 kg
BELGIUM	1,8 L		75/20 kg
DANEMARK	1,85 HW		93/25 kg
FRANCE	2,186 HW
ITALY	1,75 L- 115 kg, 2,07 L- 160 kg, DOC		137/30 kg
SPAIN	2,02-2,05 L		95-105/20kg
PORTUGAL	2,8 HW
AUSTRIA	2,37 HW		100 /25 kg
POLAND	1,81-2,1 L		92 -137/20-30 kg		Partner info; no quotation
CROATIA	2,10-2,6 HW		108-121/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
SERBIA	2,1-2,2 L		115-131/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
CZECH R.	2,36 – 2,49 HW		78-87/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
SLOVAKIA	1,95 -2,1 L		108-119/25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
HUNGARY	2,06 – 2,20 L		108-118/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
ROMANIA	2,08 – 2,31 L		108-118/25kg		Partner info; no quotation