The NFU and NPA have highlighted the ‘serious’ current financial difficulties facing the pig sector to leading banks.
They have putv together a briefing explaining how the market has ‘deteriorated significantly’ over the past year, as a combination of strong pig supplies, subdued consumer demand, falling European pig prices and processing disruption has placed sustained downward pressure on UK pig prices.
The Standard Pig Price (SPP) has fallen from around 208p/kg in August 2025 to currently around 178p/kg. “However, this average masks the much lower returns being received by some producers, particularly those selling pigs outside contracts, where prices of 130p–140p/kg or below have been reported,” the briefing states.
Against an estimated cost of production of around 207p/kg, pig producers were losing, on average, £25 per pig in Q3, with some producers reportedly losing as much as £50 per pig.
The briefing outlines the ‘particular concern’ over the number of independent producers who have been given notice on some or all of their processing contracts.
“The pig production cycle lasts around 10 months, but some businesses have received only six months’ notice. This leaves producers with animals already in the production pipeline and limited alternative outlets,” it states.
Nearly half of respondents to a recent NPA member survey had received notice, while 73% of those affected were considering reducing their herds or leaving the sector.
The briefing stresses that, at this point in the cycle, it is critical that affected farmers can access appropriate financial support and have early, constructive conversations with their lenders. It highlights how flexibility around working capital requirements, repayment profiles, covenant monitoring and short-term facilities ‘could help otherwise viable businesses manage this exceptionally difficult period’.
It suggests that the current downturn is likely to be temporary, as long as these businesses that are struggling in the short term can be supported through the intervening period.