Moving into the last week of April, the European mature pigs market remains steady.  According to German group ISN, with spring having finally arrived throughout much of the continent, the prevailing atmosphere is supportive of producers.

Over the last two weeks, public holidays have upset the rhythm somewhat, but the majority of European quotations have continued to move sideways.  

As a result of higher demand, the leading German quotation went up by 2 cents on Tuesday, following a small cut the previous week. The German price now stands at €1.55 (£1.28). This higher price led to rises in the Netherlands and Belgium, though in Austria, prices remained more-or-less level.

In Spain and Denmark, prices stagnated for the second week in a row. However, Spanish producers remain optimistic, as the corrected Spanish price of €1.80/ kg (£1.48) is only slightly below the 2013 level, which was a record year. In France, an excess of mature pigs brought recent price rises to an end. There, the quotation did, however, remain stable.

The UK price continued to rise this week, approaching the two euro mark. Producers in Britain are currently enjoying the culmination of several weeks of slight price rises, with the quotation currently standing at €1.98/ kg (£1.63).

As demand remains brisk, ISN said on Tuesday that it expects prices to remain level or rise in light of the upcoming May bank holiday.