Dear readers,

We do not have even one red line in the table, markets are stabilizing upwards. Let’s see other good things from the pig industry:

• U.S. Florida State Representatives voted 86-27 to approve the nation’s first total ban on the commercial manufacture and sale of cultivated meat. 
• Three Rivers Meat Co., USDA-inspected plant in partnership with Choctaw Nation and other investors, will open April 4, bringing relief to  the LeFlore County, Oklahoma, an area with no such investment
• German meat giant Westfleisch continued to grow in 2023, according its press release: the second largest German meat marketer based in Münster was able to increase its sales by 11 percent to 3.35 billion euros last year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by almost 7 percent to 37.7 million euros.
• innovative, creative thinkers and doers can apply to the Dutsch Barth-Misset Fund for up to 100,000 euros for projects that lead to an improvement in the living and/or transport conditions of animals in livestock farming. The deadline for a first application is March 19, 2024. 

Events calendar:

• EuroGastro  Poland is an international trade fair for the gastronomy and hotel industry, which takes place annually at the PTAK Warsaw Expo in Nadarzyn, 3 days from Tuesday, 12.03.2024 to Thursday, 14.03.2024 .
• The Annual Meat Conference (AMC) in Tennessee takes place in Nashville on 18–20 March 2024, providing exporters with the opportunity to network with more than 1,900 meat professionals from across the USA.
• The Alimentaria in Barcelona, one of the world’s largest trade fairs for food and beverages, serves as a central meeting point for leading manufacturers and suppliers in the industry. This prestigious event, held biennially, is organized at Fira de Barcelona on 4 days from Monday, 18. March to Thursday, 21. March 2024.

Art and pigs:

A little pig has been saved from slaughtering in 2016. In 2018 the hog became the first animal artist to host a solo art exhibition which was held in Cape Town, South Africa. She went on to helm several additional exhibitions in Netherlands, Germany, France, China and the United Kingdom. The following year, Pigcasso inked a deal with Swiss watchmaker, Swatch. She lent her “Flying Pig by Ms. Pigcasso” — a green, blue and pink wonder — to the face of the company’s $120 limited-edition timepiece. In 2021, the sow sold her “WILD AND FREE”  gem to a German buyer for over $25,000, setting an official world record for the highest-selling artwork ever painted by an animal. “Pigcasso” died last week, so the paintings value will increase…

Celebration

While prices have a clear upward direction in our industry, the meat consumption is still not gaining momentum. We will need Easter and grilling weather to bring the relief of the meat sector IF the retail will show willingness to share the margins !

Anyhow, the moment I was speaking about 2 years ago, when there will be less than necessary pigs in the market, is close. Belgium is no exception. For the first time in over 30 years, fewer than 10 million pigs were slaughtered in one year: with 9.4 million pigs slaughtered, more than one million fewer animals were hooked in 2023 than in the previous year. The highest number of pig slaughters occurred ten years ago, when 11.9 million animals were processed in Belgian slaughterhouses.

These days I am at the Food Expo in Athens. It is the best food exhibition in the Balkans and the east of Europe. Many of us enjoyed holidays in Greece and all what we appreciated in the local culinary art is exhibited here. While we may remember olives, feta and sea food first, believe me: Greeks eat meat!

So is still surprising me, how weak is the presence of the East-European meat industry in the fair. It is fine to go to go to Barcelona next week, to see what others are doing, but here you have the chance to also sell something!

          Last week I marked my first year in the Alföldi Cooperative. After 20 years spent in multinational companies, it was a big change. Looking back, it was a good decision and a reason for celebration!

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

COUNTRY	PIG(EUR)	TREND	PIGLET(EUR)	TREND	OBSERVATION
GERMANY	2,20 HW		85/25 kg
NETHERLANDS	1,95-2,22 HW		78,5/25 kg
BELGIUM	1,58 L		79/20 kg
DANEMARK	1,65 HW		93/30 kg
FRANCE	2,011 HW
ITALY	1,71 L115kg, 2,06 L160kg, DOC		137,2/30 kg
SPAIN	1,71 -1,77 L		90-97/20kg
PORTUGAL	2,48 HW
AUSTRIA	2,16 HW		103/31 kg
POLAND	1,46 – 1,86 L		88-136/20-30 kg		Partner info; no quotation
CROATIA	2,05 – 2,15 HW		106-115/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
SERBIA	2,04 L		110-117/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
CZECH R.	2,13 – 2,17 HW		70-76/ 25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
SLOVAKIA	1,7 -1,78 L		107-113/25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
HUNGARY	1,74 – 1,84 L		107-113/25 kg		Partner info; no quotation
ROMANIA	1,75 – 1,81 L		107-117/25 kg		Partner info; no quotation