Convergence of prices on the pig market in selected European Union countries. Case study

Abstract

Due to its specificity, animal production depends to a lesser extent than plant production on agrometeorological conditions. Interdependence between the prices of animal products and climatic conditions manifests itself primarily through the fodder markets, which determine the profitability of animal breeding and keeping. The process of economic integration should contribute to a decline in price differentiation between European Union (EU) countries. In the case of the pig market, however, it is necessary to bear in mind the pig cycle, which particularly affects the supply of livestock and their prices. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) currently implemented is not adapted to the turbulent global challenges and, underlining the lack of tools adequate to the increasingly frequent and stronger price fluctuations in agricultural markets, consider it necessary to quickly implement a new strategic reformatting of the EU agricultural policy. This study aims to examine the stochastic convergence between prices on the pig market in the EU countries. The research was conducted using, among others, the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and the Johansen test. The monthly data from January 2008 (2008M1) to December 2019 (2019M12) were used in this study (Eurostat, Statistical Yearbook of Agriculture). The conducted research indicates the existence of convergence paths between some countries and the group of EU-15 countries.