Weekly pig prices and slaughter data for Great Britain.
The EU-spec SPP has recorded its biggest increase since July 2022, gaining 2.07p to stand at 180.41p/kg during the week ended August 1.
After last week’s loss of 1.36p, this continues a pattern of ups following downs since early May. The net effect of this volatility is that the SPP is now at highest point since the week ending May 2, having dipped below 178pkg at times in June and July.
It remains more than 28p below where it stood a year ago, however, on the back of an imbalance of supply and demand, compounded by low EU prices.
The latest Tribune roundup of EU prices showed an a relativley steady week with a small upward movement in Belgium, small reductions in France and Denmark, where the quoted headline price remains well below €1/kg, and no movement elsewhere.
The EU reference price (S-grade) moved up slightly during the week ended July 26 to stand at 134.83p/kg. With the equivalent UK price dropping back, the headline gap between the EU and UK reference prices dropped back below the 50p-mark to just under 48p, still around double the typical difference.
AHDB data suggests July slaughterings were well above year-earlier levels. Estimated GB clean pig slaughterings, at 158,060 head during the week ended August 1, were 4,400 down on the previous week but more than 3,000 head above the 2025 figure. For the first time in a while, however, the 2026 figure dipped below 2023 and 2024 levels.
Average carcase weights dropped back after the previous week’s gain of 0.51kg, losing 0.34 to stand at 89.79kg in the SPP sample. Carcase weights are now nearly 6kg below the recent April peak and slightly above year-earlier levels.
The extreme hot weather of recent weeks will have impacted productivity in the short-term and longer-term, with some heavy losses reported on farms during first heatwave, alongside what are likely to be slower growth rates.
London feed wheat futures have dropped back slightly after recent increases, quoted by AHDB on August 8 at £198/t for November and £200/t for January, similar to last week.