German VEZG pig price falls 15 cents to €1.45/kg, dragging Polish quotations down

The German VEZG benchmark for slaughter pigs fell by 15 euro cents on 16 September to €1.45 per kilogram in class E, one of the sharpest single-session cuts of the year. The new quotation is valid until 23 September, tygodnik-rolniczy.pl reported. Polish price lists began moving the same day.

Supply runs ahead of slaughter demand

VEZG linked the cut primarily to a rising supply of pigs that increasingly exceeds demand from abattoirs. Pressure is strongest in northern Germany, while the south remains calmer, according to tygodnik-rolniczy.pl. «Supply of pigs is growing, and so is price pressure on slaughterhouses. A significant price decline is unavoidable», the organisation said.

The second factor is the meat market itself. Europe still holds large volumes of pork, while sales opportunities outside the EU remain limited, which pushes the adjustment back onto live-animal prices.

cenyrolnicze.pl points to an additional trigger: Tönnies, Germany's largest pork processor, had signalled that it was considering detaching its own price lists from VEZG. The outlet read the message as a demand for a significant cut, with the alternative being that the processor stops following the exchange's settlements altogether.

Poland follows within a day

cenyrolnicze.pl converted the new German quotation to 6.29 zloty per kilogram and reported that top Polish class E prices fell to 6.30 zloty per kilogram immediately after the session. The starting point was already low: last week some plants paid below 5 zloty per kilogram live weight, while class E quotations stood at roughly 6.60–6.80 zloty, according to tygodnik-rolniczy.pl.

Producers are contesting the size of the pass-through. Janusz Terka of Solidarność Rolników Indywidualnych in Piotrków Trybunalski argued that after the declines of recent weeks the Polish price should settle near 5 zloty per kilogram live weight, give or take 0.10 zloty, rather than the 4.60 zloty some buyers were already signalling for full-truck deliveries. «It is important to preserve the market leader in Poland. Gentlemen, analyse tomorrow whether you really want to cut prices so radically», he said, addressing processors due to set new purchase prices.

Other farmers quoted by tygodnik-rolniczy.pl noted that Polish prices had been cut in weeks when the German exchange was unchanged, in their account for three consecutive weeks. One producer said he would be forced to suspend production and sell his remaining stock, ending well below break-even. A female breeder compared the situation to a pay cut of 40 to 60 percent and described restocking as a game of chance. She also warned that shrinking domestic output increases Poland's dependence on imported pork — a point Terka echoed by asking where the pork sold in Poland comes from, given that the country raises fewer pigs than it consumes.

Where EU prices sit against Brazil and the United States

cenyrolnicze.pl compared live-weight prices as of 10 September, converted into zloty:

• Spain — about 5.89 zloty per kilogram
• Poland — about 5.47 zloty per kilogram
• Germany — 5.39 zloty per kilogram
• Denmark — 5.38 zloty per kilogram, for carcasses with 60 percent lean meat
• Brazil — 4.85 to 5.30 zloty per kilogram
• United States — 5.20 to 5.40 zloty per kilogram

Spain's premium reflects its heavier reliance on exports to third countries, but part of that volume has still not been recovered after African swine fever problems, cenyrolnicze.pl wrote. Spanish exporters are channelling surplus meat into intra-EU trade while negotiating a return to lost markets, against strong competition from Brazil and the United States. The outlet also noted that the end of summer heat lifts slaughter supply in southern EU member states.

Sow support scheme unlikely to open on time

The Polish aid programme for sows and breeding gilts is a further open question. The draft set 20 September as the closing date for applications, yet as of 17 September there was no confirmation that the regulation would enter into force, cenyrolnicze.pl reported, concluding that the scheme will not be launched on schedule. On prices, the outlet expects levels to stay low for now, with a possible reversal in spring.