The National Pig Association (NPA) has said pig prices are continuing to move in the right direction as the standard pig price (SPP) increased again.
The association said rising EU prices and tight domestic supplies continue to support the market.
The EU-spec SPP increased by a further 0.39p to 211.6p during the week ended February 24, meaning the price index has risen for two consecutive weeks for the first time since late-July/early-August, when it reached its peak of beyond 225p/kg.
“The SPP has lost 1.2p since the start of the year, while the gap to the same week 12 months ago has still narrowed to just below 4p,” the NPA said.
The more volatile all pig price (APP), which includes premium pigs, gained 0.3p to stand at 211.65p/kg during the week ended February 17, having fallen back by 1.48p the previous week.
This left it 0.43p ahead of the SPP for the week.
EU prices and slaughterings
EU prices have been on the rise over the past few weeks, which is reflected in the EU reference price, which rose a further 4.2p to reach 177.76p/kg during the week ended February 18.
This means it has gained more than 6p in the space of a fortnight, the NPA said.
“The gap to the UK reference price, which had grown to nearly 37p, has closed to just over 30p, a gap that looks likely to narrow further in the coming weeks.
“Estimated GB slaughterings for the week ended February 25 fell by more than 7,000 on the week to 148,572, 7,000 down on the 2023 figure for the week, and 34,000 down on 2022.”
Carcase weights remained high, with the average in the SPP sample rising to 90.67kg during the week ended February 25, 1.3kg up on the same week in 2023.
London feed wheat was quoted by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on Wednesday (February 28) at around £160/t for March, £3 up on last week, and £182/t for November 2024, £1 up on last week.
