Weekly pig prices and slaughter data for Great Britain.
The EU-spec SPP has continued its steady decline, losing a further 1.07p to stand at 190.35p/kg during the week ended January 31, with carcase weights continuing to inch back slowly.
The SPP has now lost nearly 7p since the end of 2025 and is nearly 13p below where it stood during the same week last year. It remains at its lowest point since July 2022.
The downward trend is driven by various factors, including plummeting EU prices. However, the latest Tribune EU market round-up showed prices have largely stood on, beyond a large increase in Belgium, and small reduction in France.
The headline EU-UK price gap remains at record levels. The EU reference price (Grade S) has stabilised, falling slighting to 127.01p/kg during the week ended January 25, with the gap to the equivalent UK price down very slightly to 69.5p, around three times typical levels.
The domestic market has also been characterised in recent weeks by ample supplies and a growing pig backlog on farms.
The latest AHDB estimate showed GB clean pig slaughterings at 169,454 head during the week ended January 31, 1,000 head up on the week and 7,000 head above year-earlier levels.
The average carcase weight in the SPP sample lost 0.14kg on the week to stand at 95.11kg, a reduction 0.65kg over the past three weeks but still 3.3kg above year-earlier levels and not far off the record level recorded at the height of the pig backlog in January 2022.
London feed wheat futures were quoted by AHDB on February 4 at £164/t for March, slightly up on last week and £167/t for May.