The Nederlandse Vakbond Varkenshouders (NVV), Danske Svineproducenter (LaDS), Vereniging Varkenshouders (VEVA) and ISN Interessengemeinschaft der Schweinehalter Deutschlands (ISN) discuss about the current situation on the pig market as well as about the respective political framework

Declining stocks lead to market relief – Consolidation in northwest Europe – Crisis on Danish land market – Export demand from Eastern Europe leads to stabilising pig and piglet markets – Export promotion and foreign marketing: the key to success – Wild boar fever: the sword of Damocles – Trouble is caused by EU legislation as to animal- and environment protection

On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, 19 representatives of the pig keepers’ lobby groups from Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany met in the rural district of Vechta for a two-day conference.

“It seems like we almost may have overcome the crisis on the northwest European pig market,” stated ISN chairman, Heinrich Dierkes, thus welcoming the attendees to this year’s first four countries’ meeting. Now, after a two-year crisis on the pig market, the light could almost be seen at the end of the tunnel, he said. The stocks having declined above average in Eastern and Southern Europe, demand there for live piglets and pigs mature for slaughter were lively enough now to relieve the market to a noticeable extent.

For that reason, the piglet and pigs-mature-for-slaughter markets were intensely analysed and discussed about on the basis of various investigations. The latest EU prognoses bode quite well for the second half-year. So, for instance, an analysis assuming a pessimistic setting was made in the context of this four countries’ meeting and with regard to November 2009. From this, a pigs-mature-for-slaughter price of 1.56 euros per kg slaughter weight arose as well as a price of 47.64 euros per piglet for German sales. This was a result suitable enough to raise hopes. Exceeding the pig price of 1.60 euros per kg slaughter weight and of 50 euros per piglet seemed quite realistic for an “optimistic setting”. Thus, the long-lasting trend might be broken, giving leeway to the market.

Wyno Zwanenburg, the Dutch pig keepers’ chairman, shares the view that the four participating countries might well be said to be among those who benefit from the past structural changes. Although the Netherlands finally achieved the so-called “AK-10 status” (saying that the country is free from the Aujeszky’s disease), which allows the Dutch to deliver piglets into Germany without having to fulfil any veterinary conditions beforehand, the German piglet market has not been affected in a harmful way. After Spain became ever less interesting over the past years as a country of piglet imports and regardless of the financial crisis, increasing numbers of Dutch piglets are being exported towards East European countries such as Poland, Romania or Hungary.

Torben Poulsen, LaDS chairman, informed the attendees about the fact that the financial crisis almost brought down the Danish land market. This still caused problems for the Danish pig keepers whose farms are externally financed to a major part. Contrary to procedures in Germany, short-term variable credits are normally chosen for financing livestock housing and land purchasing. This went along with extensive restructuring measures carried out within the Danish Crown slaughter group; so the Danish pig keepers’ expansion plans were currently deferred.

Marianne Vandenberghe of the Belgian VEVA pig keepers’ organisation queried the recent methods of pricing on the pig market. The market was being manipulated and the structural changes took place currently at the small farms’ expenses above all. Therefore, VEVA chairman Gert Wallays suggested to critically question the pricing structures applied in the countries attending the meeting and to develop a new scheme through which the free market and the actual production cost would be balanced with each other. Something like a pig market arrangement or contingents were yet refused during the discussion. The argument was brought forward that such kind of arrangement was good only for conserving non-competitive circumstances. The free market alone, however, was suitable to create ideal structures.

Dr. Albert Hortmann-Scholten of the “Vereinigung der Erzeugergemeinschaften für Vieh und Fleisch” (VEZG) producers’ association expects “intense discussions to be held in summer 2010 about the respective masks to be applied in Germany”. At the Kulmbach institute for meat safety and quality, the basic principles were presently being checked and revised for the FOM (fat-o-meter) and autoFOM (fully automatic ultrasonic carcass grading) evaluation formulas which are applied for the grading of pigs mature for slaughter. It was on the horizon already, he said, that this might lead to a basic re-evaluation of the counting of lean-meat share and parts’ weights.

August Rietford, ISN board member, reported on the state of affairs concerning the wild boar fever and the effects it may have in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. He said everything possible should be done to avoid endangerment to the export business. Rietford pointed to the “ISN 10 point plan” related to combating the wild boar fever. All efforts concerning exports could be undone at one go if just one single case of swine fever transmission from wild boar to domestic pigs came about. Rietford even spoke of the “sword of Damocles hanging over the northwest European pig keeping industry” which might also hit the neighbouring countries. This was a statement which the worried Danish, Dutch and Belgian representatives also followed.

ISN manager Detlef Breuer brought up the issue of the currently worked-on ammonia guide which, the way it is designed at present, were tantamount to a moratorium on new investment. Germany carried the whole matter to excess, discriminating the pig keepers by once again ignoring cattle breeding. But the Dutch pig keepers are also fighting this battle; they are facing problems which are similar to their German colleagues’ ones. The new EU ammonia guide will already have to be realised in the Netherlands in 2010. The possibility could not be ruled out that even there an unexpected short-term change in structures occurred in pig keeping. Until 2013, a European interim solution will be valid with regard to the group penning of sows. Now, numerous small and medium-sized farms were overstrained by the enormous investment needs. The past two years’ crisis on the pigs-mature-for-slaughter market did its bit to deteriorate the whole situation. Therefore, there was need that the EU postponed the time-limit fixed for the realisation of guidelines. The Danes are forced to decrease their ammonia deposition by 30 percent this year already.

Due to the judgement delivered by the Federal Constitutional Court related to the sales promotion fund, meaning the OFF for the CMA and ZMP organisations, much room was also granted for export promotion. Export organisations such as VLAM, the Belgian Meat Office in Belgium and Danish in Denmark were presented. In the Netherland, pig keepers pay 0.29 euros per pig mature for slaughter to have exports promoted for foreign fairs, for example. There was general accordance about the fact that the appropriate foreign marketing was indispensable for strongly export-oriented countries.

The representatives of all participating countries were critical in their estimation of GLOBALGAP’s efforts to have national quality-management systems such as IKB Nederland or QS (Germany) replaced: GLOBALGAP is a private-sector organisation setting global standards for the certification of agricultural products. According to the attendees to the four countries’ meeting, this caused the regional identity of products to fall by the wayside. Pork became substitutable at will (even by products from Brazil), and food retailing were not included, contrary to the national quality management systems. This way, GLOBALGAP did not go far enough because food retailing as a critical issue remained unconsidered. This could not be in the consumers’ interest.

With its 12 000 members, the ISN represents about 70 percent of all German pig producers. The LaDS represents about 1 600 pig keepers, matching almost two thirds of all Danish pig producers. Counting around 3 000 members, the NVV supports the interests of about 60 percent of all Dutch pig producers. Having 1 200 members, the VEVA represents around 70 percent of the Belgian pig market. These lobby groups meet twice a year by tradition, in order to arrange things with each other with regard to political framework and matters of the pigs-mature-for-slaughter market. The next meeting was scheduled to be held in Belgium at the end of November 2009.

The following representatives took part in the meeting: Wyno Zwanenburg, Leo Verheijen and Erwin van der Wielen (NVV), Torben Poulsen, Paul B. Christiansen and Hans Aarestrup (LaDS), Marianne Vandenberghe, Geert Wallays, Kristof Verschelde and Ludo Dobbels (VEVA) Dr. Albert Hortmann-Scholten (VEZG) as well as Heinrich Dierkes, Friedrich Hake, Christian Schulze Bremer, August Rietford, Franz Schulze Tenkhoff, Anna-Kathrin Hertrampf, Kerstin Burbank and Detlef Breuer (ISN).