Pig price yo-yo continues

By Bethan Wilkins

The downward yo-yo pattern in GB finished pig prices continued during the week ended 6 November, with the EU-spec SPP partially recovering from the larger decline last week. At 146.47p/kg, the average price measure was 1.80p higher than the week before but more than 5p below the five-year average for the time of year.

The volatile pattern reflects changes in the number of low-priced pigs intended for export with minimal butchery in the sample each week. This aside, EU prices have continued to ease in recent weeks, and the large price differential between prices here and on the continent continues to drive a general downward trend in the British market.

Carcase weights remain high and averaged 91.76kg during the week, more than 4kg higher than a year earlier. Slaughtering all the market-ready pigs remains a challenge, and our provisional estimates for slaughter in recent weeks suggest that the number being processed is not improving. In the latest week, estimated slaughter was just 166,000 head, well below typical levels for the time of year. Note that these estimated figures are subject to change when official Defra figures are released. Defra will release figures for October tomorrow.

The EU-spec APP continued to follow a similar pattern to the SPP in the week ended 30 October, falling to 149.67p/kg. The gap between the two average price measures widened to 5.00p.

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