England's pig herd saw a rise of less than 2% in June
According to AHDB, the increase in the number of pigs was driven by fattening pigs, which reported a 2% rise in numbers to 3.6 million head, whereas the female breeding herd remained stable at 334,000 head.
In June 2016, says AHDB analyst, Bethan Wilkins, both the finishing herd and breeding herd increased by 2%. But the number of slaughterings in the following months were almost significantly lower year-on-year. This suggested that the absolute figure was somewhat overstated. As such, it may be that the census results this year remain a little inflated.
Furthermore, looking at the rise in the breeding herd (2%) from December last year, the AHDB analyst says that a 2% increase in fattening pig numbers seems plausible.
"Latest figures from Agrosoft show an increase in sow productivity, which would support this and also explain the 5% rise in young pigs under 20kg. In contrast, the numbers of heavier pigs were virtually stable year-on-year. As such, slaughterings would be expected to be comparable to 2016 in the short term, before picking up at the end of the year. Throughputs did move in line with year earlier levels in August, having been trailing behind last year in previous months."
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