UK: Pig prices rise to new highs as supplies tighten further as well as in Europe

Pig prices have increased again to a new record high as supply numbers continue to tighten in the UK. The EU-spec SPP increased yet again during the week ended 11 February, this time by 1.45p to reach a high of 206.39p/kg. Following last week's modest 0.16p increase, it has now risen by more than 6p over the past five weeks. The SPP is now nearly 68p ahead of where it was a year ago. Meanwhile, the APP gained 2.31p to reach 209.74p/kg in the week ended 4 February, after a small increase the previous week. The gap between the two price averages widened to nearly 4.8p. It comes as pig supply numbers continue to tighten at home as well as a rise in pig prices in Europe, underpinned by lower pig numbers. After a few weeks of stability, the EU reference price gained a huge 3.65p to reach 181.71p/kg the week ended 5 February, on the back of notable increases in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. The gap between the EU and UK reference prices narrowed appreciable to 25.4p. ...