GB pig prices continue downwards

By Bethan Wilkins

It was another difficult week for the finished pig market, with the EU-spec SPP experiencing another fall. The EU-spec price for the week ended 23 January fell by 1.36p to 141.69p/kg – this is now the 27^th consecutive week of decline. There is still a surplus of pigs available relative to slaughter capacity, and pork supplies across Europe as a whole continue to exceed demand. The EU average price may have been more stable in recent weeks, but it remains about 30p below the UK average, which is a large discount in historic terms.

Slaughter was estimated at 184,000 head, a weekly decline of 2% but 1% higher than the same period last year. A backlog of slaughter pigs on farms is still being reported, and it seems slaughter levels are not sufficient to make much headway on this. The average carcase weight, however, did fall by 0.5kg to 90.16kg after a historic high the week before. The average probe measurement also fell to 11.3mm, a level that has not been recorded since October.

Prices in the weaner market were not reported for another week due to insufficient data to produce a statistically robust price. Difficulties in the finished market are reportedly affecting weaner pig movements.

The EU-spec APP declined by 1.43p to 147.80p/kg for the week ended 16 January. This was nearly 17p below the same week last year. The gap between the APP and SPP widened to 4.75p, with a slightly larger fall in the SPP for the same week.

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