The EU-spec standard pig price has fallen for the sixth consecutive week during the week ended November 18, but the rate of decline has slowed – it was down by 0.09p to stand at 217.15p/kg.
In contrast, National Pig Association (NPA) said the SPP had fallen by, on average, close to a penny a week for the previous five weeks.
It has now fallen for 12 out of the last 13 weeks, losing 8.5p since mid-August, but remains about 16.5p ahead of a year ago.
The all pig price (APP), which includes premium pigs, was down by 0.43p during the week ended November 11 to stand at 216.98p/kg, closing the gap slightly on the SPP to just 0.26p.
“The main factors driving falling prices appear are a weakening domestic demand for pork, allied with falling EU prices, while rising carcase weights have also been cited as a factor,” the NPA said.
“The EU reference price for the week ended November 12 was fractionally down at 184.67p/kg, having fallen by more than 30p since mid-July.
“The gap to the UK Reference narrowed slightly to just under 30p, albeit still high by historic standards and continuing to make imported pork relatively attractive.”
Slaughterings
Estimated GB slaughterings grew “significantly” during the week ended November 18, up by more than 14,000, to 172,667, the NPA said.
This figure is virtually identical to the figure of a year ago and follows weeks of large year-on-year deficits of in the region of 15,000 to 20,000.
“While this maybe significant, it is worth cautioning that these estimated are frequently later revised,” the NPA explained.
“After hitting the highest average this year, at just over 91.kg, average carcase weights dropped back slightly to 90.72kg in the SPP sample in the week ended November 18, 1.4kg ahead of the equivalent week a year ago.”
London feed wheat was quoted by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on Wednesday (November 22) at around £186/tonne for November, similar to a week ago, and £191/tonne for January, slightly down on last week.
