After a continuous decrease since September 2020, the hog price in France stabilized around the average price of 1.20 € per kg carcass from the beginning of December until mid-February of this year.

This price decrease was accompanied by a rise in the price of feed, which today stands at around €280 per Tonne ($ 328 US). As a result, some pig producers started to struggle. Nevertheless, the gradual disappearance of supply surpluses and strong exports led to an increase in prices. In the last 5 weeks, the hog price has gained 0.15 € per kg carcass weight.

Average carcass weight for the first 12 weeks of 2021 is 96.93 kg (213.69 lbs) with an average price of 1.246 €/kg ( 75¢ US/lb)

The Easter holiday will nevertheless lead to an activity drop, which will have to be monitored, in a context of weak domestic demand.

Genesus Customer Testimonial

Scea du Chenot
The Genesus Duroc For a Better Pork Value

About 5 years ago, Jean-Pierre Huard the owner of a 200 sows farm has taken a new direction, to promote and market his pork himself.

" I had old barns and I didn’t have enough finishers room for all my production, it is why instead of reinvesting money in new barns, I chose to market my pigs myself to have a better value. For this it seemed essential to me to be able to offer to my customers a high premium product differing from the standard pork."

For this, Jean-Pierre has improved the welfare in his farm (stoped castration, tail docking, and teeth clipping), changed his diet (free of GMOs and antibiotics), and made the choice of Genesus Duroc sire for better meat quality.

Jean-Pierre’s customers are mostly central kitchens (collective catering, schools) and for the rest some restaurants, grocery stores, and individuals.

"The first feedback from my customers was very positive and they told me they enjoyed this more tasty pork. This encouraged me in my approach and I invested in a cutting shop on the farm with a space to receive customers."

Sell at a better price

Jean-Pierre sells finisher pigs weekly, valued at an average price of 2 € per kg carcass, which means 0.5 € per kg more than in the past, with very satisfied customers.

Full Genesus Duroc pigs

After starting to market Genesus Duroc crossed pigs (F1 x Duroc boar), Jean-Pierre is now moving to produce full Genesus Duroc pigs (Duroc Genesus sow x Duroc Genesus boar).

"Some of my customers who really liked marbling of my pork asked me if it was possible to further increase it, it is why I bought Duroc purebred gilts to produce these full Duroc pigs. The marbling has been so much improved so that some customers do not even recognize the taste of pork because it is so tasty and tender. "

By offering more and more high premium pork Jean-Pierre can reach new customers. Recently, a hotel group seems very interested in its products.

The brand of Jean-Pierre Huard is called « Cochon du Chenot » :

www.lecochonduchenot.com