Compound pig feed prices in the final quarter of 2014 were at their lowest level for four years with production at its highest since 2001, according to BPEX.
New figures from Defra show that the £234 a tonne average for compound pig feed in the final quarter of 2014 was 10% lower than in Q4 2013 and 20% below the peak levels reached in early 2013, when feed cost £290/tonne.
During the same period, production of compound pig feed was up 4% year on year to 466,500 tonnes, which was the highest quarterly production since 2001, with output for the year as a whole also the biggest in the same period.
“There was a particularly sharp rise in finisher feed production in the fourth quarter of 2014, up 9% on the year to the biggest figure for 15 years,” said BPEX. “This reflects the increased slaughterings and heavier carcase weights of late. Sow feed output was also up 6% year on year but 1% less grower feed was produced.”
Overall animal feed output was almost unchanged from a year before in the final three months of last year, as less ruminant feed was produced. Use of cereals in compound animal feed was also almost unchanged. However, there was an 8% increase in the amount of wheat used, while barley, oats and maize all recorded declines of 14-15%. The bigger UK wheat crop this year has allowed it to regain share from the alternatives.
Among oilseed meals, there was a shift from rape meal to soya meal, with 6% less of the former used and 5% more of the latter.