The National Pig Association (NPA) has said SPP is continuing to fall steadily as throughputs rise in the run-up to Christmas.
The EU-spec standard pig price (SPP) fell for the eighth consecutive week, falling by a further 0.54p to stand at 215.99p/kg during the week ended December 2.
The NPA said this was a similar drop to the previous week and the SPP has now lost 1.8p over the past four weeks, and nearly 10p since mid-August.
It remains about 16p ahead of a year ago.
The all pig price (APP), which includes premium pigs, was down by 0.57p during the week ended November 25 to stand at 216.10p/kg, meaning the gap to the SPP remains at around 0.5p.
The main factors driving falling prices remain the same: a weakening of domestic demand for pork allied with falling EU prices, the NPA said.
“However, the EU reference price has stabilised, after plummeting from a high of 215p/kg in mid-July,” it said.
“During the week ended November 26, it moved up by 0.3p to stand at 185.36p/kg, significantly, the second successive weekly increase.
“It has hardly moved over the past month or so, with the gap to the UK reference price narrowing just over 28p, albeit still significantly wider than the single-figure gap seen for much of this year. Imports remain very competitive.”
Slaughterings
Estimated GB slaughterings continue to rise as Christmas approaches.
The figure for the week ended December 2 was up by 6,000 on the previous week, to 176,663 head, still 16,000 below the figure of a year ago.
The NPA said carcase weights continue to fall. Average carcase weights were down by nearly a kilo during the week ended December to 89.01kg, having fallen by 0.8kg the previous week.
This is still 0.67kg ahead of the equivalent week a year ago.
London feed wheat was quoted by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) on Wednesday at around £184/tonne for January, down slightly on a week ago, but was £24 higher for November 2024.
