June pig meat production remains high

UK pig meat production reached 86,600 tonnes in June, a similar level to May production. According to the latest Defra figures, this is 13,900 tonnes (19%) higher than June last year.

The number of clean pigs slaughtered was also up at 941,200 head (+17% year on year), driving the increase in pig meat production. This compares to a slaughter of 952,600 clean pigs last month. In June 2021, slaughter figures of clean pigs are reported by Defra as 804,600.

While the June slaughter numbers appear large when compared to previous year figures, they are similar to numbers slaughtered in recent months. As such, it is difficult to determine at this point if the Defra numbers are on the high side, or it is simply a matter of comparing to a period when throughput was low. 

Carcase weights continued to drop in June, however the rate of decline slowed compared to recent months. The average weight of clean pig carcases in June was 88.7kg, 0.4kg less than in May, but still 3% (2.5kg) heavier than a year ago.

Total production for the first six months of the year (Jan-Jun) is 538,300 tonnes, a 7% increase compared with last year at this point. The clean pig kill is 5.66 million head, up 3% year-on-year. Although there has been a small increase in slaughter numbers, heavier carcase weights are the main reason for the increase in production.

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