Cash piglets: prices continue to rise

51115
© Price range for cash piglets by weight category in July 2022

The limited domestic supply is putting pressure not only on the market of commercial pork, but also on the market of market piglets, the Association "Pig Breeders of Ukraine" states.

Since the end of the summer, prices for market piglets have shown positive dynamics, as evidenced by the price monitoring of the analytical department of the Association Ukranian Pig Breeders is a nonprofit": "In August the quotes in this segment remained at the level of July, but in late summer and early September the suppliers revised them upwards. Thus, marketable piglets weighing 20-30 kg were UAH 120-146 / kg against UAH 90-130 / kg in July-August and animals in 9-12 kg weight category rose in price by 20% to an average of UAH 230-240 / kg".

The Association notes that a significant driver of the prices for marketable piglets is consistently high demand for fattening animals, including from farmers who specialize in cereals and in the limited foreign trade, want to increase the added value of their products by pig breeding. However, the supply of marketable piglets remains extremely limited: some suppliers have reoriented to their own fattening, and the vast majority of future batches of farm-reproducers are booked in advance. An additional factor supporting the positive price dynamics is the corresponding changes in the live stock market: "The increase in prices for pigs of slaughter conditions fuels the demand for market piglets from "situational" pig breeders as an opportunity to earn enough quickly", commented analysts of the industry Association.

It should be noted that in the EU countries there is also a continuing increase in prices of market piglets, which has been growing since June. Thus, according to the European Commission, the average price of piglets in the Commonwealth at the beginning of September was 53,9 euro / head, which is 10% higher than a month earlier, and 66% higher than in September 2021. At the same time, a significant increase in transportation costs and the devaluation of the hryvnia create economic barriers to the import of animals for fattening from abroad.


The Association Ukranian Pig Breeders is a nonprofit, voluntary organization founded by domestic pork producers. The main objectives of the association are representation and protection of rights and interests of farms of the association, assistance in the development and introduction of new technologies for efficient production of pork, expansion of markets, protection of domestic sales market.