The EU-spec standard pig price (SPP) was unmoved at 209.54p/kg during the week ended August 3.

It has lost just under 2p since the beginning of June and more than 3p since the beginning of the year.

It remains 16p below a year ago when the price index was nearing its peak, the National Pig Association (NPA) said.

The all pig price (APP), which includes premium pigs, inched up by 0.17p to 210.98p/kg during the week ended July 27.

This increase follows the APP losing 2p over the previous fortnight, and left it 1.4p ahead of the SPP for the week.

The European reference price (grade S) dropped back fractionally during the week ended July 28 to stand at 181.01p/kg, extending the gap to the equivalent UK reference price to more than 25p.

Slaughterings and feed wheat

Estimated GB slaughterings for the week ended August 3 were up by more than 4,000 on the previous week to 158,105 head, which was 2,000 down on last year and nearly 8,000 below the 2022 figure.

However, these figures remain very much subject to revision amid ongoing uncertainty over the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra’s) UK figures, the NPA said.

Average carcase weights dropped slightly to 90.05kg in the SPP sample during the week ended August 4, just under 1kg higher than the same week in 2023.

London feed wheat futures for November were quoted by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on July 31 at £192/t, £3.50 up on last week.