Danish ferry exports to Germany in the first half of 2013
Every six months, the Danish agricultural statistics break down the monthly recorded exports of ferries by country of destination. Germany is one of the most important countries with a Danish export share of between 65% and almost 70%.
The Danish piglets delivered to Germany in the first half of the year amounted to around 3.25 million animals. This is around 1.4% or around 46,000 fewer piglets than in the same period last year. At the same time, the German share of Denmark's total exports fell from just under 70% to 65%. If the half-year result is converted to the full year 2013, around 6.5 million Danish piglets were fattened in Germany, slightly less than in the previous year.
This confirms the observation that farrowing imports have recently stagnated after years of constant growth. The same observation applies to Dutch piglet exports.
Danish piglets are increasingly being delivered to Poland. The reason for this can be found in the Polish sow herds, which have been greatly reduced by almost 45% and a high proportion of which were managed in unprofitable small holdings of less than 15 animals. In the first half of 2013, around 1.31 million Danish piglets were transported to Poland, an increase of 45% compared to the same period in the previous year.
Dutch piglet exports to Germany amounted to just over 2 million head in the first half of 2013, around 1% less than in the same period of the previous year.
This means that rising German farrowing imports to compensate for the fewer young animals produced in Germany are a thing of the past for the time being.
There are currently no signs of a fundamental change in this trend for the second half of the year. Piglets remain relatively scarce - measured against the surplus of fattening places in Germany. There is little scope for a sharp fall in German piglet prices, as domestic and foreign piglet supplies would otherwise be diverted to other demand areas with relatively lower prices.
However, the piglet price level remains closely linked to pig prices.
