Despite plant closures, pig prices in France show resilience
The French average price for pigs have been resilient from January to the end of April, increasing the profit for farmers, shows a recent report from Genesus Inc. According to Philippe Malletroit, the company's Director for France, "over the first 6 months of 2020, the market price average was slightly higher than last year, despite an unprecedented health situation (Covid-19) that has had a strong impact on the consumption habits of the consumers". Prices been 24% to 30% higher in the first quarter and have dropped below the average recorded last year only in the months of May and June, with - 6.52 % and - 11.74 % respectively. (see details below)
|
MONTH |
2019 |
2020 |
Evolution |
|
January |
1.170 € |
1.523 € |
+ 30.17 % |
|
February |
1.178 € |
1.484 € |
+ 25.98 % |
|
March |
1.253 € |
1.555 € |
+24.10 % |
|
April |
1.405 € |
1.491 € |
+ 6.12 % |
|
May |
1.457 € |
1.362 € |
- 6.52 % |
|
June |
1.525 € |
1.346 € |
- 11.74 % |
At the same time, processors were confronted with several plants closure due to COVID-19 infections reported among workers. The most significant of those was the outbreak reported in Kermene packing plant in Brittany. The plant has a weekly capacity of 40,000 head but it didn't disturb the supply chain in a significant way. Instead, the carcass weights increased to over 97 kg, due to the lack of removal on the farms. However, since mid-June, the plant is working at full capacity again. In June (week 23 to 26) the number of pigs slaughtered was slightly higher than in June 2019, with an average carcass weight of 1.28 kg. For the summer, pig prices in France may increase, although there are certain concerns regarding the situation in Germany at Rheda slaughterhouse, owned by Tonnies. "Since the lockdown is complete in France and with restaurants reopening, the situation should gradually return to normal and we can expect a pork price increase for summer. Nevertheless, there is concern about the temporary closure of one of the largest German and European packing plant, Tonnies slaughterhouse in Rheda. This closure will certainly have a negative impact on pigs harvesting on the German and European markets," commented Mr Malletroit.
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