A relatively normal week for this time of year is coming to an end. On the one hand, there was another public holiday in some regions this Thursday, which was of course used again in many cases for a long weekend. On the other hand, we are in the middle of the phase when European industry is essentially busy planning its summer break. The first customers are announcing their holiday weeks. No one feels at the moment that raw materials are in short supply and that there is no danger of prices rising. No one is particularly hyperactive and deliveries and supplies can be made on basis of the current production. We have been pointing out for quite some time that, from our point of view, there are some types that are overvalued in the general price structure and this seems to be slowly becoming accepted in the market. Even if prices in our country have not yet changed much, or are presently and officially not changing much, there are more and more rumours every day that price reductions are now being seriously discussed in other European countries. This will only be reflected in our market in the new negotiations in the coming weeks. The commodity groups that essentially have to hold their own on the international markets and for which the share of spot transactions is much larger have adjusted their prices already slowly and with a certain tenacity in the international

context in the past weeks. In the end, this week was also like the weeks before. There are always isolated and sporadic inquiries and they have very precise and with clear price expectations. There are not many negotiating options – you simply have to decide whether you are prepared to sell at the customer’s asking price or not. We have not been able to find very wide discussion possibilities that go beyond USD 0.50 per pieces in China. Thus, the still relatively low kill helps to keep the pressure to sell under control, but this does not change the basic market situation. The currently available quantity is more than sufficient to satisfy demand, so hopes for rising prices are very limited, at least for the next few weeks. We all know how volatile the moods and decisions in Asia can be, so one can expect anything, but there are not many arguments for great enthusiasm at the moment. In Europe, most people are aware of the plans for the leather production that still have to be covered until the summer holidays, but they will not lead to an increase in demand until August. Sales were also possible this week, but as for some time now, they tended to be random transactions. The prices for female goods dropped again slightly and unfortunately the US dollar has ended its current rise for the moment.

The kill

No change in the kill. In our region not hampered by the holiday and we could look back on a normal production week. The beef business is not improving at this time of year nor are meat producers pressing larger stocks in the cold stores and freezers. Looking at live cattle prices, they are also likely to have been quite expensive. In any case, live cattle prices have fallen by 10-15% over the past months. Since the pork business is not compensating at the moment, the situation in the meat industry is certainly not good either. At the moment, there is a lack of rain that could influence the feed situation. If there is not satisfactory rainfall in the next two weeks, this will also have an impact on the kill in the further course.

What do we expect

We don’t have any great wisdom to offer at the moment regarding the further development of the market. Demand is never zero and so week by week it kind of goes on and on. However, it will probably take a while before the situation can fundamentally improve. But that is no news and has been the case for weeks or better months now. So we continue to wait for ‚deus-ex-machina‘ and in the meantime enjoy the nice weather.