Pig prices are heading back up again after last week's dip, but average costs remain high with many businesses continuing to lose money.
The EU-spec GB SPP increased by 0.36p to reach 200.37p/kg for the week ended 1 October, following the previous week’s 0.21p backward step.
The previous week’s reverse was the first since February - although it came from a relatively small sample and unusual trading week due to the bank holiday held for the Queen’s funeral.
Meanwhile, the APP was down by nearly a penny for the week ended September 24. At 202.68p/kg, the gap between it and the SPP was just 2.67p.
The National Pig Association (NPA) said pig producers would be hoping the return to an upward trend for the SPP "is a sign of things to come".
It comes as average costs – estimated by AHDB at 221p/kg for August – are still above average prices, with many businesses continuing to lose money on a weekly basis.
The industry is estimated to have lost, collectively, more than £600 million since late-2020.
The figures, published by the AHDB, show that average pig production losses were £52 per head in Q2 2022.
The NPA warned that many farmers were being forced to quit the sector or lower production due to the situation.
"With pig prices hovering around the 200p/kg mark, producers are still, an average, enduring significant losses," the body said.
"Numerous producers have already been forced to quit, and many more have reduced their sow herds, as reflected in the June Defra Agricultural Survey, which shows a 17% year-on-year decline in the breeding herd.
"Sadly, we continue to hear of more producers, who can no longer sustain losses of this magnitude, going out."
Amid reports of pigs being rolled again, carcase weights rose for the sixth consecutive week, and now stand at 90.4kg, 3kg heavier than in mid-August.
Estimated GB slaughterings stood at 173,512 for the week ended October, significantly up from the previous shortened week, but slightly down on the week ended September 17 and up by around 3,500 head on a year ago.
