September UK clean pig slaughterings were up 1.3% on September 2024 at 869,000 head, with pigmeat production 2.1% up year on year to 81,000 tonnes, Defra’s latest update shows.
The weekly breakdown shows 184,000 pigs were slaughtered per week in September, compared with 181,000/week in August and 194,000/week in July.
The September figures show 682,000 pigs were slaughtered in England and Wales, 169,000 in Northern Ireland and 18,000 in Scotland.
UK pig slaughterings trended above year-earlier levels during the first half of 2025, but the July and August figures were down 3% and 5.4% year on year, respectively.
Average carcase weights increased significantly from 89.2kg in August to 90.7kg in September, which was also well above September 2024 figure. The monthly UK pigmeat production figure of 81,000t, compared with 76,000t in August and 80,000t in September 2024.
September sow and boar slaughterings at 17,000 head were 6% down year on year.
October has seen more volatility in GB pig slaughterings on the back of factory issues. AHDB’s latest estimated GB slaughterings for the week ended October 11 were down by more than 14,000 head on the week to 159,563 head, 5,000 down on 2024.
Average carcase weights increased for the sixth successive week, gaining 0.39kg to stand at 91.91kg in the SPP sample, to remain just below year-earlier levels.