Dear readers,

let’s start with the best news for the industry and the region:

• first field trial of the VACDIVA project, aiming to develop an ASF vaccine, will take part in the forests of Hungary. 300 wild boars will be inoculated through baits and the results will be studied by the project team led by Dr. Jose Manuel Sanchez-Vizcaino. The immunizer that will be used was created with genetic editingtools, in order to reduce the viral DNA in the pathogen and select a set of genes that promotes resistance in animals.
• The GoAgro platform, developed by Croatian companies Agroporc, Beyondi and Blok Be, is aimed to buy pork, through the acquisition of redeemable digital assets, also known as non-fungible tokens or more popularly, NFT .Each of these purchasing has a minimum value of 250 euros and guarantees the acquisition of one hundred kilograms of pork, which can be delivered 900 days after the transaction, this being the breeding period of the animals. The objective is to eliminate the “intermediaries” between pig farmers and pork consumers.
• The French agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, told a big agro-industry gathering that “we have to admit that we must work on the entry level” end of the market. “Animal welfare issues only work if we find someone to pay” for high-quality meat, he insisted. Are politicians waking up?
• The German meat industry is making an attempt to repair the image of the red meat by media campaigns. According to market information, the large pig slaughterers in Germany alone are expected to collect €0.30 per animal for this purpose. At current figures, that would be more than €12 million per year.

Events calendar:

• ICE Indonesia Convention Exhibition is taking place in Tangerang, in proximity of Jakarta from Wednesday, 20.09.2023 to Friday, 22.09.2023 already for the 6th time. The Ildex Indonesia was established in 2013 and is a trade fair specializing in livestock breeding, dairy products, meat processing, and aquaculture.
• The 333 Experience Congress 2023 edition for Farm and Human Resources Managers (HR) will be held at the Palau de Congressos-La Llotja in Lleida, Spain, on September 20 and 21. This congress aims to give voice and visibility to the true protagonists of the sector: the workers and farm managers.

Land of Confusion

While we always manage to find some reasons to optimism in the pig industry, not all of the information are so supportive.

The decline of the pig numbers will have to bring, as natural consequence, the reduction and consolidation of the numbers of the slaughterhouses and red meat processing plants.

A less negative evolution is the one of the Flemish Q-group of the De Bruycker family and  Van Loon Group, originally a Brabant family business, the market leader in meat and convenience. Q-group handles the sale, production and distribution of fresh meat products, charcuterie and meat substitutes to more than 2,000 large kitchens. Van Loon will gradually acquire 100 percent of the shares of Q-group.

Meanwhile Olymel is planning to close two more plants in the coming months, affecting about 400 jobs in the company. The Canadian meat processor and distributor said the closures are part of measures to reorganize its business lines and optimize operations at its facilities. The group will close its pork boning and packaging plant in Princeville, Quebec, and a poultry processing plant.

Industrias Cárnicas La Cope emerged from what was the Torrent Butchers and Meats Cooperative set up in 1965 and operated an 22,000 square-meter facility in Torrent in eastern Spain. The plant has shut down with more than 200 workers losing their jobs.

Adapting to the available number of pigs has this consequence. Political pressure on industrial farming has reached an unprecedented level, but the recent  French declaration shows an easing approach. We will have to watch carefully also the coming Dutch and German elections. Will be possible to build a political majority without the “dark greens”?

We are living in the land of confusion…

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

COUNTRY	PIG(EUR)	TREND	PIGLET(EUR)	TREND	OBSERVATION
GERMANY	2,30 HW		80/25 kg
NETHERLANDS	2,04-2,32 HW		61,5/25 kg
BELGIUM	1,62 L		54/20 kg
DANEMARK	1,74 HW		76,5/25 kg
FRANCE	2,05 HW
ITALY	1,97 L 115kg, 2,29 L 160kg, DOC		128,5/30 kg
SPAIN	1,88 -1,9 L		64-73/20kg
PORTUGAL	2,62 HW
AUSTRIA	2,27 HW		95/25 kg
POLAND	1,52-1,85 L		76-113/20-30 kg		Partner info; no quotation
CROATIA	2,05-2,25 HW		110 / 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
SERBIA	2,42 L		110-131/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
CZECH R.	2,28 – 2,33 HW		75,5-81,5/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
SLOVAKIA	1,86 -1,92 L		100-105/25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
HUNGARY	1,90 – 2,01 L		100-105/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
ROMANIA	1,83 – 1,95 L		100-105/25kg		Partner info; no quotation