Page 16 of articles about markets-economics in Articles

In February, the price should improve, slightly and with difficulty, but it should ameliorate.

We think that administrations must take urgent actions regarding the crisis in the pig sector.

The cost of PRRS ranges from €17 to €185/sow/year in the three studies presented.

USA breeding herd expansion seems inevitable.

In our sector we know well that if Germany sneezes the whole of Europe catches a cold. Last Wednesday the prices dropped by €0.04 in Germany…

Just like the emergent molten lava from Mount Kilauea, so an historical metric of the US hog industry, having lay dormant for many years, is creeping ever so slowly over its profit destroying "trigger" level. That metric is the hog corn ratio.

Europe as a whole has a flat depressive profile with the prices in the minimum levels of the last three years.

All the ingredients required for a pig industry expansion: Oxygen (PEDv becoming manageable) + fuel (high profits and lower feed ingredient prices ahead) + a spark (intentions to farrow 3-4 % more sows).

All the European markets lower the prices very quickly to position their meat as best as possible with respect to its rivals. The search for alternative markets is essential…

September will be a bear market month. We still have to see the pace of the drops.

During July Germany has made a strong challenge that is difficult to process for the whole of Europe.

The low supply sets the pace of the price of pigs, but there are many more factors at stake: multiproduct commercial flow from Denmark to US; Russia has just presented a proposal for the opening of exports from some countries of the EU, etc.

If no disturbing health factors appear, this year will be remembered as a very positive one.

The next time you hear someone over lunch tell you the value of a tenth improvement in FCR, unless they are drawing a distribution on your napkin, tell them you don’t run an average pig business so you are not interested in their average values.

The Spanish price will rise until well into summer, and the range of the rise will depend on Europe.

The future for the European pig producers seems clear and the heart of the matter lies in knowing how the different markets will reposition themselves.