Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. June 2025
    2. 2025 Innovation supplement
    3. May 2025
    4. April 2025
    5. March 2025
    6. 2025 Buildings supplement
    7. February 2025
    8. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    9. January 2025
    10. December 2024
    11. November 2024
    12. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    13. October 2024
    14. September 2024
    15. August 2024
    16. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    17. July 2024
    18. June 2024
    19. 2024 Innovation supplement
    20. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    21. May 2024
    22. April 2024
    23. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    24. March 2024
    25. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    26. February 2024
    27. January 2024
    28. December 2023
    29. November 2023
    30. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    31. October 2023
    32. September 2023
    33. Health Supplement
    Featured

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025
    Recent

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025

    2025 Innovation supplement now available

    June 4, 2025

    May 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    May 1, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Peter Crichton

Peter Crichton’s commentary for September 4, 2015

Peter CrichtonBy Peter CrichtonSeptember 4, 20153 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

In school report terms, pig prices are still a case of “could do better”, although it was good to see the SPP take a slight upward step rising 0.21p to stand at 132.43p, but there still seem to be plenty of pigs about in relation to demand during a week that has been plagued by abattoir breakdowns, which meant that some pigs ended up being rolled.

However, with school terms starting and the holiday period well and truly over, demand tends to get firmer at this time of year, especially with better demand for legs to be put on one side for Christmas.

But fresh meat buyers reported high street demand to be on the quiet side, with the result that spot bacon was generally traded in the 130p to 132p/kg range and weekly (should be called weakly) announced prices, mainly in the 124p to 128p/kg range, remaining under pressure, with some processors cutting prices by a penny and the others (thankfully) standing on.

The earlier recovery of the euro seems to have almost fizzled out, although its value on Friday afternoon was 73.20p compared with 72.74p a week ago.

One of the only bright spots in the trade was much better demand for cull sows with prices nudging up by 3p or 4p/kg from 55p towards 60p/kg, and this came on the back of reports that the German pig price had also improved to the tune of 4.0 to 5.0 cents.

On a glass-half-empty basis, however, there’s still a long way to go before cull sow prices can recover to anywhere near their value of 95p/kg a year ago.

Weaner prices are continuing to fall, reflecting ongoing worries about finished pig prices this autumn, despite the availability of much cheaper feed, with the result that the AHDB 30kg and 7kg ex-farm weaner prices remain in retreat and are quoted at £41.21/head and £32.13/head respectively.

With feed prices continuing to slide, this must surely be a good opportunity for some finishers with a little bit of pluck to fill up with weaners, bearing in mind there may also be a greater availability of second-quality feed wheat in those areas where harvest is yet to be completed.

The latest Farmers Weekly spot feed wheat price has slipped again and now stands at £101.60/t and the futures markets are also continuing to reflect bearish trends with November feed wheat quoted at £111/t and March 2016 at £115/t.

Reports that Ukrainian maize and wheat exports during July and August were higher than in 2014 should also help to put downward pressure on EU cereal prices, but soya meal rose £5 on the week to £288/t (ex-Liverpool) on a spot basis.

Further uncertainty over China’s economic growth prospects has also hit global grain and oilseed markets, but there’s also a worry that the cash-strapped Chinese consumer may seek to cut their food budgets at the expense of pork.

And finally, the NPA is reporting that although supermarkets are displaying more British ham, sausages and bacon than two months ago, its latest Porkwatch Survey has indicated that fresh pork displays are down by 2%. The association has also picked out Aldi, Budgeons, the Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsburys and Waitrose as 100% loyal supporters of fresh UK pork – and the less said about Tesco and Asda the better!

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleGM food and feed plan thrown out by EP agriculture committee
Next Article Last chance to vote for NPA AIG Member of the Year
Peter Crichton

Read Similar Stories

This Will Be The Last Time (Peter Crichton’s final market update)

March 25, 2023

Pigs on the Wing

March 17, 2023

Good Vibrations

March 10, 2023
Latest News

Government pledges to protect UK standards in trade deals

July 1, 2025

Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) closing date approaching

July 1, 2025

Keeping your animals cool in the heatwave

July 1, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Experienced Pig Stockperson – Ref 1757 South East England

    • South East England
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson Farm Worker – Ref 1756 UK

    • United Kingdom
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Assistant Pig Manager – Ref 1755 Oxfordshire

    • Oxfordshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.