May 24, 2021
 

Germany's pig prices on the rise as lockdowns ease

Germany's pig prices have increased last week as restaurants reopened in the country with the easing of COVID-19 lockdowns and EU exports continued to compensate for lost sales to China, experts said on May 21.

German pig prices rose to €1.54/kg (US$1.88) slaughter weight from €1.46 (US$1.78) the week before, the association of German animal farmers VEZG said.

Prices stood as low as €1.21/kg (US$1.48) in February after being hit last year by widespread import bans after African swine fever (ASF) was found in Germany.

"German prices are being supported by some re-stocking by the food service industry against a tight supply background as the food service sector gets ready to open," said Justin Sherrard, global strategist (animal protein) at Rabobank. "As supplies are tight, it doesn't take much of a bump on the demand side to push prices up after a flat period.

"Relaxing lockdowns will change the consumption patterns, with consumption shifting from retail to the food service sector as restaurants and the rest of the hospitality sector is able to work again."

China and other Asian countries banned German pork imports in September after ASF was found in wild animals in Germany. This resulted in other EU countries increasing exports to China, while German sales to Europe increased.

"German pork exporters have done an incredible job of re-distributing their sales to Europe after the loss of Chinese and Asian markets last year," Sherrard said. "Spain especially has strongly increased its exports to China in early 2021, taking over a lot of the pork volume previously sold by Germany, along with some more moderate increases by the Netherlands and Denmark.

"Germany has taken over gaps left in other EU countries."

- Reuters