Weekly pig prices and slaughter data for Great Britain.
The EU-spec SPP has continued its steady decline, losing a further 0.77p to stand at 191.43p/kg during the week ended January 24, with carcase weights dropping back a little.
The last reversal means the price index remains at its lowest point since July 2022. The SPP has now lost nearly 6p since the end of 2025 and is nearly 13p below where it stood during the same week in 2025.
The downward trend is driven by various factors, including plummeting EU prices. The latest Tribune EU market round-up showed better news, with EU finished pig prices standing on across the board. However, the German cull sow price has dropped back by a further 2 eurocents, with a knock-on effect, as always, to UK prices.
The headline EU-UK price gap continues to grow to new record levels. The EU reference price (Grade S) lost 4.5p to stand at just over 127p/kg during the week ended January 18, pushing the gap to the equivalent UK price to just of 70p, the sort of figure that was completely unheard of prior to the past weeks.
The domestic market has also been characterised by ample supplies and a growing pig backlog on farms, partly caused by various factory issues over the past two months or so.
The latest AHDB estimate showed GB clean pig slaughterings at 168,523 head during the week ended January 25, 6,000 head down on the week, slightly up on year-earlier levels.
The average weight in the SPP sample for the week ending January 25 dropped back very slightly again, losing 0.17kg on the week to stand at 95.25g, still 3.3kg above yearearlier levels and not far off the record level recorded at the height of the pig backlog in January 2022.
London feed wheat futures were quoted by AHDB on January 28 at £162/t for January, and £167/t for March, slightly up on last week.