UK: Significant fall in British pork production expected

The falling pork production is the effect of the 11.7 percent fewer sows and 22.4 percent fewer gilts counted in the United Kingdom in 2022. In addition, a period of lower pig production is starting due to the fertility problems caused by the heat wave in the summer of 2022. AHDB predicts pork production will drop 15 percent to about 885,000 tons of pork by 2023. The number of pigs that will be slaughtered in 2023 will amount to around 9.8 million animals. That is 1.4 million less fattening pigs than in 2022. The average carcass weight will also be considerably lower this year because the slaughterhouses will be short of pigs. The average carcass weight is expected to average 87 kilograms. That is four kilos less than the carcass average of the past year. Light recovery sow herd For the first time since the end of 2020, AHDB sees some reduction in input costs including feed. Despite this, feed prices will remain at a higher level than in the years leading up to 2021. The dynamics ...