This week’s Pig Marketing Summary, from Thames Valley Cambac, reported that factory reliability was fairly poor, with major breakdowns causing pigs to be rolled into this trading week.
There were small indications of better demand with odd Saturday kills, but supplies remained on the tight side. Any contracts containing SPP eased slightly as the SPP surprisingly fell 0.13p.
The reason was that while the price in the SPP sample in the main weight range rose, it was an increased number of pigs out of spec – both underweight and overweight that adversely affected the calculation. It is a timely reminder to producers of the importance of stock selection for their outlet, to ensure they hit their factories specification.
The fresh meat market was slightly better as the high street regained a touch of normality after the half term break. The cull sow market was similar pricewise, with the fear of a no deal Brexit allayed for the time being. In Europe, Denmark continued to trend higher, up another 2.7 euro cents, on the back of better export demand. The euro stood on at 86.60p.
The Weaner Marketing Summary, for week commencing October 27, reported that demand remained poor for any supplies outside a contractual arrangement, with a lack of decent fattening space continuing to weigh the market down.
The prices announced by the AHDB saw no quote for a 30kg store pig and the weighted average for a 7kg weaner rise by £1.01 to £41.10p.