Following a sharp decline the week before, in the week ending 23 October, the EU-spec SPP rose by 1.87p to average 148.22p/kg. The measure was 8.39p below the price recorded in the same week a year ago.

Estimated clean pig slaughter at GB abattoirs totalled 170,200 head during the week, 5% lower than the week previous and 8% lower than the same week a year ago.

Last week reports again indicated throughput was supported by some extra batches of low-priced pigs, intended for markets where only minimal butchery is required. As was the case a couple of weeks ago, the sample this week contained fewer of these pigs. While this means the overall average price paid for pigs was higher, making progress on the backlog clearly remains very difficult.

Average carcase weights were slightly lighter than the week before at 91.18kg. However, weights remain over 4kg heavier year-on-year.

In the week ending 16 October, the EU-spec APP fell by 2.99p from the week before to average 153.45p/kg. The measure was 8.05p below the price recorded in the same week a year ago. During the same week, the SPP recorded a larger decline, and so the gap between the SPP and APP widened to 7.10p.

Words: Hannah Clarke