EU pork production has seen marginal gains in the first three months of the year compared to 2023, AHDB reports.
Production from January to March of 2024 was at 5.42m tonnes, an increase of 0.3% from the same time last year.
The majority of these gains came from Poland, which saw a growth of 31,000 tonnes to 485,000 tonnes, and Germany at 10,400 tonnes, and figures reaching 1.07m tonnes.
See also: Straw prices for the week ending June 23, 2024
But this was offset by large declines in key producing countries, such as Spain and Denmark, who saw lowered rates of 7,000 and 21,500 tonnes respectively.
Slaughter numbers reflect these decreases, with the EU total of 56.2m head sitting 1% lower compared to the year-to-date 2023.
Like production, gains in slaughter numbers made by countries such as Poland (214,000 head) and Hungary (67,000 head) were offset by declines in Denmark and Spain.
Falls in EU production have limited export opportunities, as total pig meat exports have fallen by 6% from 2023 in the year to date at just over 1.3m tonnes.
The comes in large part from falling exports to China, which were 83,000 tonnes lower in the first four months of 2024, down to 363,000 tonnes.
Other notable falls in volume have come from Japan, sitting 13,200 tonnes lower in 2024 than 2023.
EU imports of total pig meat have fallen by 1,800 tonnes from the year-to-date total of 2023 to 2024, totalling 46,000 tonnes.
In terms of costs, EU grade E prices saw stability in past weeks but have now fallen, with the week ending 16 June seeing the EU average price at 185.8p/kg, a decrease of 2.5p/kg from the previous week.
The difference between EU and UK prices is now at 23.6p/kg for the same week, remaining stable compared to large differences seen at the beginning of the year.
All recorded countries reported losses of between 1.4-3.1p/kg from the week ending 9 June to the 16 June.
During this time, there have also been large declines in prices from the start of the year in both the Netherlands and Denmark, losing 11-12p to dip to 156.5p and 158.4p.
Spain has recorded growth of nearly 12p from the beginning of 2024 to 184.8p/kg for the same period.
Recently outbreaks of African Swine Fever in Germany continue to cause disruption, seeing restrictions placed on farm, abattoirs, and butchers’ shops.
