July UK clean pig slaughterings were up 5.8% year on year at 909,000 head, with pigmeat production 5% higher at 83,000 tonnes, the latest Defra figures showed.
The data shows an average of 205,000 clean pigs were killed per week in July, slightly down on June, but significantly up on the 194,000 head in July 2025.
There was a significant 12% increase in sow and boar slaughterings, from 17,200 in July 2025 to 19,200 in July 2026, suggesting that producers are reducing the size of the breeding herds in response to the current market turmoil.
Breaking numbers down regionally, 730,000 clean pigs were slaughtered in England and Wales in July, alongside 23,000 head in Scotland and 156,000 head in Northern Ireland.
There was another big reduction in carcase weights, which averaged 88.5kg in July, compared with 90kg in June and 93.6kg in April, confirming that the backlog that built up at the end of last year is now firmly under control. In stark contrast to the first half of the year, July carcase weights were below year earlier levels, resulting in a 5% increase in pigmeat production from the 5.8% increase in slaughterings.
Year to date
The July throughput figures continue the trend throughout this year, with AHDB’s summary of the Defra figures showing UK clean pig slaughterings over the first seven months of 2026 were up 3% year on year, alongside an 8% increase in sow and boar slaugherings.
There is significant variation in the year-to-date trends across the UK. Clean pig slaughterings were up 4.1% in England and Wales and up 5.4% in Scotland, but down 2% in Northern Ireland.
While, sow and boar throughputs were 4.8% higher year on year in England, the figure was a massive 44% higher in Scotland, up from 9,900 head to 14,300 head, while the July figure more than doubled to 2,900 head, suggesting a big breeding herd adjustment in Scotland. No figures were published for Northern Ireland.