May clean pig slaughterings in the UK totalled 751,300 head, according to the lastest figures from BPEX. This was nearly 3% higher than in the same month last year, the biggest annual increase since December 2012.
In this week’s Pig Market Weekly, however, BPEX says it’s worth noting that throughputs were particularly low in May 2013 and this year’s figure was lower than in May 2012.
Overall, supplies remain relatively tight, with slaughterings for the first five months of the year virtually unchanged on a year earlier at 4.19 million head.
During May, English throughputs matched the growth rate of the UK as a whole, while Northern Ireland also recorded an increase, with 4% more pigs killed than last May. However, Scottish slaughterings were 6% lower.
UK adult pig slaughterings recorded a year-on-year increase for the first time since June 2013. At 19,400 head, they were 2% up on the year.
This added to the amount of pig meat produced during the month, as did heavier clean pig carcase weights. At 80.4kg, the average carcase was lighter during May than during the previous four months. However, this still represented a record level for the time of year (and indeed the five heaviest average carcase weights on record have all been this year).
As a result, the UK produced 5% more pig meat during May than a year before. Total output was 63,200 tonnes.