SPP has a spring in its step, sitting just shy of 210p/kg

With the official start to meteorological spring last week (1 March) the GB EU spec SPP recorded a sprightful weekly increase of just over 2p for the week ending 4 March, to stand at 209.75p/kg, the highest weekly increase seen since the end of January. There is normally some seasonality to GB deadweight pig prices, with the arrival of spring bringing a gentle uplift through till the autumn. It will be a key watch point to see if this trend continues in 2023 whilst the pork industry remains in anything but normal times. Our latest retail data release, shows that pork purchase volumes fell 2.6% in the 12 weeks ending 19 February, which despite being a negative value, is marginally more positive than our forecasted decline (–3%) in total pork volumes. How consumers continue to respond to the cost-of-living challenge remains a crucial question for both UK and EU marketplaces.  

For the 4 weeks of February (w/e 04 – 25 Feb) the SPP averaged 206.55p/kg, an increase of over 4p compared to January. However, this price increase is relatively small when compared to movements recorded in EU pig prices in recent weeks. Despite prices sitting well above (+62p) the 5-year average, they continue to fall short of the latest estimated cost of production.  

The APP, although a week behind, has recorded similar movements to the SPP. For the 4 weeks ending 18 February the APP average 209.22p/kg, up over 3p compared to the previous 4-week period.

AHDB estimated throughputs for the four weeks of February stood at 632,600 head. This is a decline of 3,000 head compared to the previous 4 weeks and a significant decline of 13% compared to the 5-year average for the time of year. Average carcase weights saw little movement over the 4-week period with the SPP averaging 89.36kg and the APP averaging 88.54kg.

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