EU pig prices fell by €2.67 to €192.62/100kg, in the four weeks ending January 5, 2020, which belies the generally strong sentiment that still underpins the market.
Prices hit the highest level in over 20 years in week ending December15, at €197.05/100kg. The average pig price is still nearly €60 above where it was a year ago.
The price ran up sharply in December after weeks of more modest rises. This is despite as yet unsubstantiated reports that Chinese import demand has stagnated, with some downward pressure on prices Asian buyers are prepared to pay.
This follows government action to quell domestic pork prices. Chinese wholesale prices fell back a little in December, but remain extremely high. It remains to be seen if they will increase strongly again.
With EU prices falling, the gap between UK and EU prices has continued to close. For the week ended January 5, the discount of the UK price to the EU average stood at €2.93, compared with over €6 four weeks before.
Selected individual countries nations recorded price changes as follows over the four weeks:
- Poland: +€0.24
- Spain: -€1.88
- Netherlands: -€2.19
- Denmark: -€2.94
- France: -€4
- Germany: -€6.22
- Belgium: -€8.20
