Dearer sows offer way out with 230p/kg costs

Many pig farmers still posting losses despite a record-breaking pig price could see a sow price of £150-£160 as a chance to finally call it quits.

A best-ever SPP of 209.75p/kg deadweight was not enough to stop one farmer losing £15 a pig on a “ticks all the boxes”, outdoor-finished Red Tractor and RSPCA approved system last week. Some business have costs of 225-230p/kg.

However, larger units insulated from feed prices with diversified income and home-produced electricity can start putting a little profit back into the “black hole” of losses.

See also: Soaring UK pig prices boosted by global export opportunities

Exit door

Sow prices, which were as low as 20p/kg in January last year, have now been quoted at 118-122p/kg deadweight, with a little more available for large loads of good sows.

This is a three-fold increase on the year, but still not as high as the price was 20 years ago, said pig consultant and valuer Peter Crichton.

“We have seen some producers sell their sows as a hedge against further losses,” said Mr Crichton.

“The sow trade is much improved. There was a time when unless you had 20 or 25 sows in a load, you wouldn’t cover the cost of the haulage from East Anglia.”

A strong pig price was welcome, but Mr Crichton stressed that the concerns were:

• Soya price of £551/t for April.
• Imports rising faster than exports. Export volumes were up by 6.5% last year to 372.597t, but imports were up by 10% to 801,500t.
• EU average cost of production was 225p/kg, but product in Belgium (189p/kg), Denmark (142p/kg) and Germany (201p/kg) was still undercutting UK trade.
• Electricity costs may start hitting processors harder and be passed on to farmers.

However, Mr Crichton said: “The positive thing is the price has lifted remarkably strongly and costs have started to ease.”

Spot market strong

A strong spot price of 215-220p/kg was behind a more positive pig market in recent weeks, said Will Wallis, pig auctioneer at Frome.

Cull sow prices had recovered. One vendor had 10 sows that averaged £230 a head and trade had topped with a big white sow at £265 a head.

Mr Wallis said: “We have seen a steady rise in the trade since Christmas – it’s heading in the right direction.”