UK pig farmers lost, on average, more than £20/head in the second quarter of this year, as pig prices plummeted and costs of production soared, according to AHDB’s latest net margin estimates.
The latest quarterly figures, which use performance figures for breeding and finishing herds, estimate that the full economic cost of production over the course of Q2 2026 was 201p/kg deadweight – an increase of 9p on Q1. The rise was driven by a 4p hike in feed costs to 119p/kg, accounting for 60% of the total average cost, alongside a 3p rise in finance and miscellaneous costs and a 1p increase in labour costs.
Meanwhile, pig prices, as measured by the SPP, fell by 9p from an average of 188p/kg over Q1 to 179p/kg (SPP) in Q2.
This resulted in an average margins of -22p/kg deadweight, equating to a loss of of -£20.44 per slaughter pig, down from -£4/head in Q1.
Given that these are average margins, some farmers, particularly those on longer-term fixed or heavily COP-linked pig contracts and those with relatively low fixed feed costs, will have fared significantly better, while others will have suffered far greater losses. Some producers have reported prices in the 130-140p/kg region, a long way below the SPP.
For example, NFU Scotland said in July that the cumulative impact of the persistent gap between prices paid to Scottish pig producers and the SPP has exceeded £1 million per month.
The estimated losses recorded this year followed a period, starting in Q3 2023, of 10 quarters of positive margins and one break-even quarter. Prior to that, the pig sector suffered huge losses over 10 successive quarters of negative margins.
The SPP has increased slightly since the end of Q2, standing at 180.41p/kg in the week ended Aug 1, athough cereal prices have risen so far in Q3.