Tighter numbers put pressure on spot pig market
Spot market buyers are short of pigs, with reports of better retail demand pushing bacon weight pig prices up to between 160 and 162p/kg deadweight late last week.
Among the big five processors, Tulip disappointed sellers by standing on its price but a 0.58p/kg rise in the deadweight average pig price to 158.2p/kg helped the other four shout price operators to add 1p to their weekly offers.
Pig processor prices
- Woodheads – 161p
- Gills – 158p
- Cranswick – 157p
- Karro – 157p
- Tulip – 157p
Static prices for cull sows mean UK export abattoirs are paying just 107-109p/kg deadweight compared with cull sow prices of up to 128p/kg this time last year. This equates to a £30 a head difference.
With UK pig numbers falling back due to the long cold winter and spring as well as the December 2012 census flagging up the lowest pig numbers in living memory, demand for weaners continues to improve. The latest AHDB 30kg ex farm weaner average rose to £48.79 a head, with Freedom Foods weaners trading £3-£4 above this.
Feed grain prices remain high with May wheat quoted on the LIFFE futures market at £201/t. As a result most producers are continuing to trade at a loss and will do so until feed prices fall or pig values rise.
EU pig prices buck seasonal trend
Processors cut weekly pig price