UK pig prices reach new high after 13th consecutive weekly rise

UK pig prices have continued to rise to a new all-time record, with strong EU prices also continuing to drive the price to new highs.

The EU-spec SPP increased by a further 1.26 pence to reach 216.74p per kg in the week ended 8 April.

The National Pig Association (NPA) said this figure would, in the past, have been "unimaginable".

The latest increase means the index has now risen for 13 consecutive weeks since the start of the year, gaining more than 16.5p in the process.

The SPP currently stands at just under 60p ahead of a year ago, a time when pig prices were climbing rapidly.

The NPA said that along with lower input costs, many pig producers were now starting to return a profit on their production.

However, the industry body warned that there was still a "very long way to go to claw back the losses of the past two years".

Recent figures published by Defra show that England alone has lost one-fifth of its female breeding pig herd following the industry's heavy financial losses.

After the previous week's rise of 1.44p, the APP, which includes premium pigs, was up by a relatively small 0.49p to 217.13p during the week ending 1 April.

The gap between the two price averages has narrowed to just over 1.6p, an historically small difference, seemingly reflecting a narrowing the gap between Red Tractor and outdoor-bred pigs.

After slipping back very slightly the previous week, the EU reference price was up by 2.24p to 204.95p/kg during the week ended 26 March.

Prices were up in most key pig producing nations, except France, with Germany, France and Spain all above the 210p/kg mark.

The gap between the EU and UK reference prices narrowed to less than 8p, still well below typical levels. In late-January, the gap was nearly 30p.

Feed wheat prices have dropped back slightly over the past few days and were quoted at around £190/tonne for May on 12 April. Other costs, including soya and energy, remain high.

AHDB estimates continue to show GB slaughtering levels massively below the numbers of 2022 and 2021.

Estimated slaughterings during the week ended 8 April, at just 145,511, were nearly 9,000 down on the week and the lowest recorded this year.

The figure was also nearly 45,000 below 2022 levels and 41,000 below the 2021 figure, continuing to highlight the massive drop off in pig availability.