03/02/2005 
Where are the 2005 pig prices off to? - A comment by Bernhard Bonekamp, ISN Deputy Chairman
When looking upon the 2004 development of pig prices, you will find that prices as a rule tended to increase on Thursdays – hardly ever going up by more than 3 cents. On Mondays, insignificant corrections were usually observed (with a downward movement in most cases).
This way, a weekly price above all was tried to be found in advance. Just as much did people try to limit price fluctuations, which might be what agriculture would have wished and which might be of use to the whole industry’s increase in value.
This attempt, however, failed on the market where the wind blows hard.
After the call for cooperation, nothing was done really by the slaughter companies. Seeing that prices went up by 2 cents already Monday this week, yesterday’s 7-cents’ price increase was the natural thing to happen after the last three weeks’ price reductions. No such hard reaction has so far been seen to the slaughter industry’s similar way of acting in October 2004.
This new, common way of acting by the producer associations and the ISN is needed for maintaining the balance of forces!
Well now, the question remains to be asked: Wouldn’t we better use both the Monday and Thursday prices for three days each to have them serve as an accounting basis? In the end, the matter of what price to pay as from what weekday on is a thing to be agreed upon between the individual pig keeper and the buyer.
Certainly, every pig fattener better kept in mind, however, that prices should be fixed by the time the pigs are being delivered. Just in case the buyer would not want to agree to that, the pig keeper were well-advised to find alternative ways of marketing the animals (such as the internet pig market).
There’s no market in delivering pigs at prices as expected on the day after tomorrow.
In future, pig prices are expected to rise and fall much more significantly than they do today. This needs to be accepted by everyone who wants to get onto the market. But the one who does not want to put himself at a risk this way may conclude contracts in commodity futures trading.
This way, a weekly price above all was tried to be found in advance. Just as much did people try to limit price fluctuations, which might be what agriculture would have wished and which might be of use to the whole industry’s increase in value.
This attempt, however, failed on the market where the wind blows hard.
After the call for cooperation, nothing was done really by the slaughter companies. Seeing that prices went up by 2 cents already Monday this week, yesterday’s 7-cents’ price increase was the natural thing to happen after the last three weeks’ price reductions. No such hard reaction has so far been seen to the slaughter industry’s similar way of acting in October 2004.
This new, common way of acting by the producer associations and the ISN is needed for maintaining the balance of forces!
Well now, the question remains to be asked: Wouldn’t we better use both the Monday and Thursday prices for three days each to have them serve as an accounting basis? In the end, the matter of what price to pay as from what weekday on is a thing to be agreed upon between the individual pig keeper and the buyer.
Certainly, every pig fattener better kept in mind, however, that prices should be fixed by the time the pigs are being delivered. Just in case the buyer would not want to agree to that, the pig keeper were well-advised to find alternative ways of marketing the animals (such as the internet pig market).
There’s no market in delivering pigs at prices as expected on the day after tomorrow.
In future, pig prices are expected to rise and fall much more significantly than they do today. This needs to be accepted by everyone who wants to get onto the market. But the one who does not want to put himself at a risk this way may conclude contracts in commodity futures trading.
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