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The prices for slaughter pigs are record low. But consumers hardly benefit.
How is the situation on the market? “Shitty,” say many pig farmers in unison. “We are currently paying to be able to do our work,” says a farmer to “10vor10”. The only thing that varies is the color of the banknotes that are attached to the piglets’ tails. For every piglet that breeders sell to pig farmers, you lose between 20 and 50 francs.
At the pig producers’ association Suisseporcs, the crisis meetings are chasing each other and the phones are running hot: I hear farmers are complaining that they can no longer pay for the animal feed. A farmer with a family of four says “10vor10” that he had to borrow 30,000 francs just to be able to finance the feed costs. In addition, there would be higher energy costs and expensive veterinary bills. The longer the crisis lasts, the more companies will have to close.
Violations of animal welfare
The industry likes to talk about the pig cycle; because the prices are sometimes higher, sometimes lower. However, producer prices are currently at an all-time low. And the overproduction leads to a backlog that harms the animals: the pig producers have to wait a long time until their fattening pigs are picked up and taken to the slaughterhouse.
The animals are getting heavier and fighting for space in the barn. At the same time, their places remain occupied, into which the piglets should push. “In the summer, our pigs were stressed because they were around 10 kilos too heavy and we had space problems,” says the farmer. The result: tail biting, a behavioral disorder. The farmer unintentionally violated the Animal Welfare Act.
Unheard Warning
How could it possibly come this far? The pig market is unregulated, breeders and fatteners can produce as many animals as they want. During the corona pandemic, pig production was good business because the closed borders made shopping tourism impossible. Suisseporcs, the association of pig producers, had repeatedly warned against overproduction – in vain.
Legend:
These IP label fattening pigs weigh over 110 kg and have too little space in the barn. The fine is at least 600 francs.
Swiss animal protection
Since June 2021, a historic drop in prices has been taking place. Around 10 percent too many pigs are on the market. The price is at a record low of 3 francs per kilo of slaughtered pig – 35 percent lower than at the best of times during the pandemic. In the store, however, consumers feel little of the free fall in prices.
Consumers hardly benefit
The market analysis of the Federal Office for Agriculture shows: The consumer prices of the shopping basket of conventional pork products have only fallen by 12 percent since June 2021 – including sales. When asked, Migros and Coop refer to higher energy and transport costs, which would make the processing of pork more expensive. Price supervisor Stefan Meierhans is not satisfied with this explanation. If the difference between producer and consumer price is so big, one has to ask oneself whether the consumer gets his rights: “I expect the retail trade to pass on these price reductions”.
Legend:
SRF
Taxpayers also have to bear the brunt of the misery
Spicy: Consumers, as taxpayers, are being asked to pay for the failures of the pig industry. The federal government provides up to 3.1 million to relieve the market. Around 20,000 excess pigs are to be slaughtered and stored. In addition to the storage campaign, around 30,000 slaughtered pigs are to be exported. The export is paid for by the pig farmers and the cattle dealers.
Insider: Export to Tönnies
But who buys the superfluous Swiss pork? The industry is practicing silence. Insiders say: One customer is the controversial German meat multinational Tönnies. And the spokesman for Coop subsidiary Bell says they are considering exporting slaughtered pigs to the Bell branch in Poland. This is a big loss for Switzerland. In Germany alone, slaughtered pork is a third cheaper to buy.
You can see more on the subject tonight at 9:50 p.m. on the show “10 vor 10” on SRF1.