Increase of 1,2 percent in the annual UK pig meat production
Clean pig slaughter stood at 884,700 head in December according to Defra, down 11% (110,600 head) from November, again due to disrupted kill over Christmas. This brings the total number of clean pigs slaughtered in 2022 to 11.2 million head, a marginal decrease (-0.6%, 62,000 head) from 2021. It is likely that this year-on-year decline in slaughter numbers is due to the additional bank holidays received in 2022 creating fewer working days.
Defra’s figures show sow and boar kill fell in December to its lowest monthly number since October 2021 at 18,000 head. Numbers of sow and boar do normally drop off in December, with 2021 and the backlog of pigs being the exception. This brings total numbers for the year to 257,000 head, unsurprisingly with the challenges producers have faced, this is an increase of 5% compared to last year and compared to the annual 5-year average.
Carcase weights continued to ease in December with the average sitting at 87.6 kg for the month. There is a 3.3 kg difference between current weights and the weights seen in December last year when pigs were backing up on farm, however weights do still remain above the 5 year average by 1.7 kg. Carcass weights were the main driver of production growth in 2022. Average weights peaked early in the year during the peak backlog period and gradually declined through the fall, then declined again during the winter. For the year as a whole carcase weights averaged 90.1 kg, up almost 5 kg on the annual 5-year average and up 2% on 2021.
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