Pig price index falls for 9 out of the past 10 weeks - NPA

UK pig price continues to fall, with the EU-spec standard pig price dropping by a further 0.76p during the week ended October 28.

It now stands at 218.88p/kg, and the National Pig Association (NPA) said this means the price index has now fallen nine out of the past 10 weeks.

Following last week’s dip of 0.48p, the standard pig price (SPP) has now lost nearly 7p since mid-August.

As well as this, the gap between the SPP and the all pig price (APP) has widened again, the trade association for UK p ig farmers said.

“Following the previous week’s loss of just over 1p, the APP, which includes premium pigs, was down by another 1.64p during the week ended October 14, its biggest fall of the year, to stand at 218.43p/kg,” it said.

“This increased the gap between the two price indexes, which had closed to virtually nothing, to 1.21p, with the SPP still ahead of the APP, as the reversal of the usual relationship continues.”

Weakening demand and falling prices

The NPA said the two main factors driving falling prices appear to be weakening domestic demand for pork as well as falling EU prices.

“The EU reference price for the week ended October 22 was down by a further 3p to 187p/kg, with further falls in Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands, meaning it has now come back more than 28p since mid-July,” the NPA said.

“With the UK price coming down at a much slower pace, the gap between the UK and EU reference prices has grown from 6p to close to 31p.

“There were further significant pig price reductions in France, Spain and Ireland last week, with the German price holding up after recent significant falls.”