Sluggish pig trade after Christmas splurge

By James Garner

PIG prices met with all manner of problems in January, not least a pre-Christmas credit-fuelled shopping boom, which has left many shoppers penniless until payday.

Its been a long month too, with most consumers having to wait at least five weeks between wage packets.

This has had a knock-on effect on demand for pigmeat, which all commentators agree has been extremely flat.

Ray Pilgrim, managing director of Norfolk-based EE Pilgrim and Sons, told FARMERS WEEKLY that business was desperately slow.

“Theres a lack of momentum and direction in the market, and demand is very fragmented and fragile,” he says.

Pilgrims, now owned by Cheale Meats, deals a lot in the sow market, and this has taken a particular bashing since Germany announced problems with mad-cow disease.

Sow demand collapsed in the UK and liveweight prices dipped below 30p/kg a few weeks ago, but have picked up a bit recently, trading at 34p/kg on Monday.

Pilgrims is still not killing pigs five days a week, and it may be the end of February before things get back to normal, says Mr Pilgrim.

Maltons move to surrender pig processing at its Middlesbrough factory has reduced the firms throughput of British pigs by 10,000 since Christmas.

Industry sources suggest that some of these pigs have been replaced with imports from the companys factory in Ireland, leaving extra pigs available on the UK market.

Supply is just exceeding demand, reckons independent consultant Peter Crichton, who says the Eurospec average price is now about 96p-97p/kg.

This is the first time it has been below 100p/kg for more than a week since the beginning of July last year.

Prices are also improving on the Continent, says Mr Crichton. “Dutch futures are fairly strong and EU prices are higher. This gives me some confidence.”

Ironically, the spread of the debilitating pig disease PDNS, is cutting numbers when the market is over-supplied, infecting as many as 60% of pigs in some East Anglian herds.

Although no one would welcome the disease, prices would be under even more pressure if it was not around, he says.