UK: Breeding pig herd declines in England

England's hog breeding herd dropped 20% to 237,000 in December 2022 from 295,000 in 2021, after two years of heavy financial losses across the sector. The latest numbers were 25% below the 317,000 head recorded in 2020, the National Pig Association said. The overall English pig herd was down 9.2% year-on-year to 3.7 million, including a 7.9% reduction in the number of fattening pigs, the NPA added. The December breeding herd numbers follow the June 2022 census data showing an 18% year-on-year decline in production levels. Producers have weathered two torrid years, with farm backlogs reaching more than 200,000 hogs at the worst of a crisis caused by a flood of supply in Europe and a post-Brexit shortage of butchers. The implications of such a drop in production "are likely to be significant" for British production, the NPA warned, especially when the impact of lower slaughter weights was also taken into account. "These numbers are shocking, confirming a scale and pace of ...