Typical price phases: low piglets, high piglets higher than pigs The development of pig prices is more or less regularly occurring. The cyclic up and down phases occur every 3 to 5 years. The seasonal pork prices regularly show a summer high and a winter low. For the piglet prices, a marked spring high and an autumn low can be found on the average of the years .The ratio of pigs 'and piglets' prices at first glance shows a close parallelism . Pig prices are dominant; as a rule, the piglet price quotations follow the previous sale of the pig. One might think that the specific supply-demand ratio in the piglet market is hardly taken into account.On closer examination, however, typical price patterns emerge in the ratio of pigs' prices to piglet prices . Investigating the price relationship between pigs and piglets in a low-price phase clearly shows that piglet prices are about pigs' 5% points lower compared to a high-price phase. The explanation is mainly due to the changing purchasing and payment capacity of mothers .At low pig prices, the behavior is restrained , so there is a relative surplus of piglets. In the pre-ear phase, the fattening areas are re-occupied as quickly as possible, with the result of a pressing demand for piglets. Furthermore, the piglet offer is not the same .In the course of the year, there is a regular shortage of piglets in the spring months as a result of the below-average intake rates of the sows in the previous year warm summer period. The autumn price of the piglets is characterized by an above-average piglet offer caused.In the last few years, an increasing share of the piglet prices in pig fattening prices can be observed in the medium to long term . The background of the growing piglet deficit in Germany , which has now reached approx. 20% of the demand has grown. The imported piglet prices will be more expensive at least by the transport costs from the countries of delivery. The competition for higher piglet prices in other import countries, among others Poland, also contributes to this.
