EU pig prices recovered from the sharp ASF-related declines in February and early March during April.
Provisional figures published by BPEX show that the EU pig price averaged around 1.635 euro/kg in April, up about 0.08 euro/kg from the previous month.
Part of the increase is demand driven, with EU consumption helped by the favourable weather conditions and the public holidays at the end of the month. However, EU pig prices in April were generally below last year’s level for the same month, as the Russian ban on EU imports continued to have some impact.
By the end of the April, EU pig prices reached 1.638 euro/kg, while for the same week the UK pig price had picked up marginally to 1.912 euro/kg – a price differential of about 0.27 euro/kg, down from nearly 0.40 euro/kg in late February.
For the week ended April 27, pig quotations showed increases in all the key EU markets compared with the last week of March.
Among the main markets, the largest rises were recorded in France and Spain as a result of strengthening domestic demand, as is typically the case at this time of year, while export markets also showed positive performance, with a particular increase in demand from the Asian markets.Â
Meanwhile, in Germany, Denmark and Poland, pig prices rose at a somewhat slower rate as dull weather limited barbecue demand.