At the end of September, representatives of the pig value chain met at Burg Warberg again for this year’s Pig Trading Convention. Many contributors and panellists attending the meeting gave a good review on the German and European pig markets’ current situation. They also talked about perspectives for the upcoming years.

Over the past years, German pig feeders had to fight the all too-removed-from-reality agricultural policy of green Ministers for Environment and Consumer Protection. But due to a change of provincial governments, improvements according to local pig feeders’ interests have been clearly recognised these last weeks and months. Even if the forming of the national government has not been finished so far, clear improvements regarding all German pig feeders may be expected to be legally regularised within short, in view of the majority ratio being given in the newly elected Bundestag.

A lack of backing by the Federal Government becomes all the more apparent if it is about the quasi-existing support of German meat exports. Even if a delegation from the BMVEL (Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture) (which had been awakened after a query had been handed in by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group) held discussions in Japan and China in order to negotiate the re-entry into major Asian export markets, success is not on the horizon so far.

During the panel discussion held at Burg Warberg, experience was exchanged with regard to exports. And here it became clearly apparent that all those who commercialise meat do have to cope with and fight manifold difficulties they face in meat exportation. All those who partook in the panel discussion, as well as all attendees to the Convention, were most distressed about the BMVEL representative’s statement that made them see he understood the problem only now but would not feel responsible …

In the run-up to the Bundestag elections, the CDU had announced to be ready to set up a staff position for export promotion in the BMVEL after having won the elections. The hope remains that this kind of much welcome improvement will not be sacrificed during the upcoming negotiations with regard to the forming of a coalition.

Concluding veterinary agreements with Japan and China is of utmost importance, from our point of view. This way, Asian markets might be opened for the German meat marketers. China, for instance, often demands parts of the pig which can only be used as kind of by-products in Europe, such as paws, tails or ears. Exporting those parts might contribute much to improving the German pig production’s creation of value: Market experts calculated an increase of revenue that would possibly amount to EUR 3 to 5 per fattening pig!

Through the transfer of companies, company mergers and by expansion as well, ever more powerful companies were developed over the past years with regard to slaughter companies. Those companies expanded to be cutting- and processing companies much more rather than just remain simple slaughterhouses. This way, they can supply food retailing with large amounts of certain parts or even convenience products.

However, it must be avoided that this market position leads to price pressure being directly and unrestrictedly forwarded from the meat buyers to the farmers. The slaughter companies should also employ their market position in a way allowing them to resolutely counter the food retailing price pressure and achieve a price level acceptable to all market partners.

During the panel discussion held at Burg Warberg with regard to pricing on the carcass pig market, the trading partners’ different views on market-driven pricing became very clear. Many desirable perspectives were named again by the representatives of the various slaughter companies (Mr Erich Gölz of Vion, Mr Josef Tillmann of Tönnies and Mr Heinz Gausepohl of Gausepohl Fleisch), such as: cooperation in partnership with the farmers, shortest possible jumps in prices and highest possible prices to be achieved for carcass pigs.

But all those who know the ropes do know that these are just phrases! This year alone, for instance, as many as six periods where many carcass pigs were on offer had been exploited already for dictating prices and having prices fall only too clearly.

Last Friday, too, statements made by the two major slaughter companies on Tuesday or Wednesday that same week were no longer remembered. Instead, perfectly clear price reductions were demanded to be made on purchase prices. Even in the foreign countries of Europe, this fall in prices met quite a lack of understanding. Cooperation in partnership between slaughter companies and pig feeders certainly does not look like this!