The SPP has moved up by a significant .93p and now stands at 159.54p, so it looks as though next week the 160p barrier should be broken.
However, weekly contribution prices however are still diluting the contract values of finishers and although this week, weekly prices rose by anywhere between 1p and 3p and are now within a general 155-163p range, the average increase in weekly prices is still lagging behind the SPP.
Although the spot market has remained fairly quiet, any abattoir short of pigs would probably need to be paying over 165p to wean these away from contract outlets.
Unfortunately a significant rise in the value of the pound has hit the euro which traded on Friday worth 84.5p, compared with 85.39p a week earlier and although the German pig price went up by 30 cents to €2.03, this has only triggered a modest rise of 1p for UK cull sows where most are now trading between 120p and 123p, but this still paints a much happier picture when compared with 60p in January and culls are worth over double what they were at the start of the year.
Weaner prices are remaining firm partly due to increases in the SPP, although the latest AHDB 7kg average has slipped by £1.17 to stand at £40.89/ head. No average price has been issued by AHDB for 30kg weaners, but reports are indicating that these are trading in and around £53-£56/head, with RSPCA assured pigs continuing to earn a premium.
Feed prices are remaining reasonably stable, with UK feed wheat traded on the futures market at £150/t for January and £158/t for September.
Feed barley futures values have seen January traded at £131/t and September at £141/t.
Protein prices are continuing to ease, with Hipro soya slipping to £287/t for January-April and £286/t for May-October.
As always, these markets remain very susceptible to alterations in currency values and climatic events, none of which producers have any control over.
And finally, a fascinating seven days lie ahead with the upcoming General Election and if this leads to the UK leaving the EU, producers will be watching the situation like hawks to see what negative fallout there may be as far as the pig industry is concerned.
For the time being this will be a case of “watch this space”, but it looks as though there is still much to be negotiated as far as the withdrawal period is concerned and it is far less simple than Boris Johnson has suggested.
