There’s little sign of the usual turnaround in pig prices that cames at this time of year, BPEX reports in its latest Pig Market Weekly.
The organisation reports that the fall in the EU-spec DAPP since Christmas continued in the week ended March 1, with prices falling almost a penny to 163.08p/kg.
BPEX says prices normally start to pick up as supplies tighten and demand starts to pick up. However, estimated weekly slaughterings suggest that supplies haven’t yet begun to tighten markedly this year, while low EU prices continue to apply downward pressure to the GB market.
Nevertheless, pig prices are still about 8p/kg above last year’s level for the same week.
And the average weight of finisher pigs during the week remained high at 80.56kg, marginally down on the previous week but more than 500g heavier than this time last year.
In contrast, the 30kg weaner market jumped almost £3/head to £57.44 for the week ended March 1. This was partly due to a large number of weaners traded on a contract with an above average price, and the underlying price trend probably remains steady.
This brings the annual increase in the price of 30kg weaners to £11 per head.
In the same week, the price of an average 7kg weaner edged down to £41.47, with this market also broadly stable.