Average Farm Business Income (FBI) for specialist pig farms in England fell by 56% in 2015/16, registering the sector’s largest year-on-year decrease on record, according to AHDB Pork.
Analysing the latest FBI figures released by Defra, AHDB Pork commented that the pig farm decline was larger than previously forecast, with average incomes falling from £49,400 to £22,000.
“This represents the lowest FBI for pig farms since 2007/2008, a year when feed prices were rising and pig prices were falling,” said AHDB Pork.
“Low prices were part of the reason for the (2015/16) fall although higher levels of production led to costs associated with pig farming rising, which was also a major contribution to the decline.”
The 56% decline was the largest proportional fall for any type of farm, even ahead of the dairy sector decrease of 50% on the year.
This meant that specialist pig farm incomes fell below the average for all farms, which was £31,400, for the first time since 2012/13.