Seasonal phenomena on the pig markets of some important EU countries

Nyárs, Levente – Vízvári, Béla

The quantity of produce on offer and selling price in a pigs market is characterized by regular intra-annual (seasonal) fluctuations. A number of factors influence the price of pork: for example the quantity of slaughter pigs offered by pig farmers and the demands of meat industry. The demand for live pigs is fundamentally determined by consumers’ demand for processed pork products. The seasonal nature of buying up price is due ultimately to the seasonal nature of supply and demand. In this article we analyze the processes characterized by the releases of pork and buying up prices in EU states where we consider significant quantities of pork are produced. For this country, EU markets were always an important product destination, therefore as members of EU market participants should have a clear idea about the situation. It is advantageous for pork producers to exploit the periods in the middle of year when buying prices are high and supply is relatively low. As a member of EU, Hungary has become part of a “closed” market and by adopting common market structures home market regulations for pork were considerably simplified. National support of the sector has ceased, including that of quality support linked to prices. Producers may expect central support only in qualified cases, whose effects are indirect (support for private storage). Hungarian producers have to compete in a “sharper” market than that of the present. Their situation is further aggravated by the fact that custom duties of pork imported from third countries are decreasing.

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