Aldi and Lidl are once again driving down prices on numerous sausage, ham, and meat products. While pig farmers are currently mired in crisis and have to cope with huge losses week after week, the constant discounting is exacerbating the price pressure. The ISN (German Pig Producers’ Association) criticizes the discounters’ contradictory pricing policies.
After Aldi recently lowered prices on around 20 beef and pork products, more than 20 sausage, ham, and other sausage items are now following suit. According to a report in the Lebensmittel Zeitung, ground meat has been reduced by more than 9 percent in some cases. Lidl is also announcing nationwide price reductions of up to 13 percent. Users of the Lidl Plus app will receive an additional 10 percent discount on selected items, the Lebensmittel Zeitung reports.
Promotional campaigns are important to boost sales, but sustained price cuts and dumping only exacerbate the current ruinous situation , emphasizes ISN Managing Director Dr. Torsten Staack. Farms are running out of money, and the price reductions are being passed down to the producer level. These price wars must stop. They cause lasting damage to agricultural businesses and intensify the negative chain reaction in an industry that is already on the brink of collapse.
Price pressure ultimately always hits the weakest link in the chain – and that is the pig farmers.
While retailers and supermarkets are vying for customers with discount promotions, many pig farms are currently fighting for their economic survival. The situation on the pork market is precarious. ” We are not just experiencing a temporary price dip, but a serious stress test for many farms
,” explains Staack. The market is heavily supplied by oversupplies from other EU countries, pork prices are at a ruinously low level, and many farms are operating at a significant loss. Producers are currently missing out on around €55 in revenue per pig. These losses are adding up to well into the tens of millions of euros each week. Against this backdrop, it sends entirely the wrong signal for retailers to give the impression that meat and sausage prices need to become cheaper again.
Furthermore, selling meat at rock-bottom prices contradicts a responsible appreciation of food as well as the sustainability and animal welfare promises of the retail sector. Those who advertise with higher standards of animal husbandry, regional production, and improved animal welfare must also reflect this claim in their pricing. Staack makes it clear: Anyone who commits to German production and higher standards cannot simultaneously be a bargain hunter. It’s simply not compatible.
