Big reduction in UK pig slaughterings and pigmeat production recorded in February

Published 2023년 3월 22일

Tridge summary

February 2023 marked a significant downturn in the UK's pig industry, with a 17% decrease in clean pig slaughterings and a 21% drop in pigmeat production compared to the same period in 2022. The throughputs were also 11% lower than January and 13% below the average over the past five years. This decline is largely due to a 20% reduction in the breeding herd, as shown by the Defra census data. Furthermore, pigmeat imports experienced a 24% year-on-year decrease in January, and UK pig prices have been on a steady rise since the start of the year, reaching 211.41p/kg by the week ended March 11, an increase of 72p from the previous year.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

UK clean pig slaughterings and pigmeat production were significantly down in February, as the long-anticipated pig shortages finally became fully apparent. Clean pig slaugherings were down 17% on February 2022 at 762,000 head, following the surprisingly small 1% year-on-year dip recorded by Defra in January. Throughputs are down 11% on January and sit 13% below the 5-year average. “This is the first time monthly numbers have been below 800,000 head since May 2020 when the UK was still in the first covid-19 lockdown, and the lowest recorded monthly figure since May 2014,” said AHDB analyst Freya Shuttleworth. The large reduction in slaugherings tallies with AHDB GB weekly slaughtering estimates, which showed huge reductions on 2022 and 2021 in February and will come as little surprise after Defra census data showed a 20% drop in the breeding herd in the year to December 2022. February pigmeat production was 21% lower than in February 2022 at 70,000 tonnes, the Defra figures show. ...

Source: PigWorld