Pigmeat Market April 17, 2013 12:00 am Latest figures from BPEX reveal that the GB DAPP (EU spec) has eased slightly following the normal seasonal trend. For the week ending 19th January it stood at 159.8p per kg deadweight a week on week fall of 0.6p per kg but 16.5p per kg deadweight more than at the same time in 2012. But despite prices being near record levels, producers remain in a loss-making situation. Costs of production for January are estimated to be similar to December’s at just under 169p per kg. The AHDB estimates producers lost £7 per pig through January equating to weekly losses of £1 million. It estimates losses for the industry for 2012 were around £60 million. Prospects for the immediate future do not look better as spot prices have fallen due to cheap imports coming in, but prices are expected to recover again in March. The AHDB expects costs of production to remain a similar levels or even higher until at least next summer with feed prices remaining the dominant factor. Meanwhile it is clear producers are working hard to become ever more efficient. UK clean pig slaughterings for 2012 reached 10 million. This is the first time for a decade and despite the breeding herd being stable, throughputs were 2% higher than in 2011 as sow productivity increased. Total production for 2012 reached 825,000 tonnes 2% more than in the previous year.
