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Strong UK pork and offal exports continue
The UK’s strong export performance continued in October. While pork shipments were down from September’s high point, they were still well up on October 2011 at 14,900 tonnes. Shipments to China topped 2,000 tonnes for the first time. Exports to other EU countries were up 13%, driven by diversification into a wider range of markets. Bacon and ham exports were down by nearly three quarters but processed shipments almost doubled. Offal exports also remained very strong, with October’s total of 6,400 tonnes the highest on record. The increase was largely down to higher shipments to the EU, some of which may have been for manufactured products, although some is likely to have been re-exported.
UK pork imports during October were at their highest level of 2012 and recorded the first year-on-year increase. Bacon and ham imports were also higher than a year earlier in October. As with pork, this was the first year-on-year increase in 2012. Strong imports of processed products continued. Despite October’s increases, imports of both pork and bacon in the first ten months of this year were down on a year earlier. However, this was largely offset by increased processed imports, so the overall volume of pig meat imported was little changed. |
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November slaughterings similar to year earlier
UK clean pig slaughterings in November were only fractionally higher than in November 2011 at 830,000 head. However, this was largely due to a sharp fall in Scottish throughputs following the closure of the largest Scottish abattoir. As a result, the number of pigs slaughtered in Scotland was less than half the level last November at 27,000 head. Throughputs in England and Wales were up 5% while in Northern Ireland they were up 1%. Clean pig slaughterings for the first eleven months of this year totalled 9.3 million head, 2% more than the corresponding period in 2011.
Having been inflated since July, the number of adult sows and boars culled during November returned to more normal levels at 21,300 head, less than 2% more than AHDB/BPEX estimates for November 2011. Nevertheless, cullings in the year to date were up 8% at 247,000 head. This is 18,000 more than in the first 11 months of last year, with over 15,000 extra recorded between mid June and November. The average UK clean pig carcase weight was marginally lower than in October and was also little changed from last November at 78.6kg. With neither slaughterings nor carcase weights significantly different to a year earlier, pig meat production was virtually unchanged at 68,400 tonnes. |
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UK pig prices
Due to the holiday period, the DAPP for week ended 29 December will not be published until later this week. In the week before Christmas, the EU-spec DAPP remained firm, adding 0.07p to reach 161.09p per kg. This was the 16th consecutive weekly rise. Demand was relatively strong, with estimated throughputs falling back by only about 9,000 to 175,700 head, which was nearly 20% higher than in the equivalent week last year. This suggests that there will be less of a backlog of pigs in the New Year, which could give some support to prices that normally fall back after the Christmas marketing period. With pigs continuing to be pulled forward in advance of the holiday period, carcase weights fell to their lowest level in 18 months, averaging 77.58kg.
No weaner price has been published since week ended 22 December, when it stood at £46.19 per head.
The weakness in the cull sow market continued in week ended 15 December, the latest week for which prices are available. With low demand from continental manufacturers, as is normal at this time of year, and plentiful supplies, the average price fell by more than 4p to 105.35p per kg. This was the lowest level since September 2011 and more than 8p below a year earlier. Throughputs reached their highest level of the year at around 6,500 head but this was similar to the number in the equivalent week last year. |
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EU pork and offal exports remain subdued
The year-on-year decline in EU pork exports which has been apparent since June continued in October, with shipments down 11% at 137,000 tonnes. However, this marked a slight recovery compared with September, as pig meat production was higher during the month. Shipments to Russia and its neighbours Belarus and Ukraine were down, as were exports to South Korea and Hong Kong. However, this was partly offset by higher volumes sent to China and Japan. The recent declines mean that EU pork exports for the year to date were little changed at 1.33 million tonnes, with China and Ukraine the main growth markets.
Lower production also hit offal exports, which were down 6% on October 2011 at 89,000 tonnes. Shipments to the main market of Hong Kong/China were down 14%, although a greater proportion went to the mainland. This was partly offset by increased exports to Russia. For the year as a whole, offal exports were down 6% year on year at 826,000 tonnes, with the Hong Kong/China trade broadly stable but lower shipments to Russia and several smaller markets. Live pig exports were down by a third compared with last October at 83,000 head, as trade with Russia was down 86%. This was partly offset by increased shipments to Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia, while the other major market, Croatia, took just 2% fewer pigs. |
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US pig numbers stable
Latest figures from the USDA show that pig numbers on 1 December were virtually unchanged from a year earlier at 66.3 million head. The number of breeding pigs was marginally higher than in December 2011 while the number of pigs being raised for slaughter was fractionally lower. The breeding herd was also slightly larger than the previous quarter. This is somewhat surprising given the financial losses the industry has recorded in recent months due to high feed costs and low pig prices. 
The pig crop during the September-November quarter was up marginally on a year earlier at 29.4 million head. The number of pigs weaned per litter reached a record level of 10.15, offsetting a 1% fall in the number of sows farrowed during the quarter. Nevertheless, the number of sows farrowed was higher than intended farrowings reported in September. Intended farrowings for the December-February quarter are also higher than they were three months ago and little changed from the actual figure for the same quarter last year. However, intended farrowings for the spring quarter are 2% lower than in 2012, suggesting a possible fall in the pig crop. |
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Feed market update
Prices for both cereals and oilseeds fell during the last two weeks of the year. Nearby LIFFE feed wheat futures were down £11.75 at £205.25 per tonne, while the more significant May contract was down £7.75 to £210.25 per tonne. In part this was due to traders squaring their positions before the year end and worries over the US Fiscal Cliff. With the latter having been averted, temporarily at least, prices began to increase again on Wednesday morning, with the May contract standing at £213 by the early afternoon.
Soya prices were also down, with Chicago futures falling by 3% between 18 December and the end of the year. This comes as Chinese buyers cancelled another 300,000 tonne order and Argentine plantings were reportedly back on track.
To read more about the latest developments in the feed market, click here. |
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December Pig Market Trends out now
The December edition of Pig Market Trends (PMT) was published just before Christmas. As well as the usual coverage of producer prices, slaughterings and production, trade, retail sales and prices, costs of production and other industry news, this month’s edition includes international comparisons of the cost of pig production.
Pig Market Trends is now available free of charge. Subscriptions are available by contacting Emma Whitlock (emma.whitlock@ahdb.org.uk). Recent editions can be downloaded from the BPEX website by clicking here. |
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Key Data |
(week ended 22 December 2012) |
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Current |
Change
on week |
Change
on year |
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NI clean pig slaughterings |
29,000
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-5,000 |
+600 |
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£:$ |
1.623
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+0.012 |
+0.060 |
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