EU pig slaughter was also relatively stable in October, according to a report from AHDB analyst Bethan Wilkins. Slaughter remained at a similar level to much of 2021 at 20.6 million head.
This is less than 3% lower than in October the year before, a drop likely as a result of the being fewer working days in the calendar month this year, with an additional Sunday when compared to October in 2020, said Ms Wilkins.
There was a noticeable 5% year-on-year decline in slaughter in Germany and the Netherlands was also down by 8%. Denmark, however, continued to record higher throughputs.
“Despite more stable figures in more recent months, slaughter across the first ten months of 2021 overall was still 2% higher than the previous year, at 206 million head,” added Ms Wilkins.