UKÂ clean pig slaughter reached 864,400 head in February, up 3.6% on the same month the previous year, according to AHDB. The growth comes despite industry reports suggesting the supply of finishing pigs has been tight.
England and Wales accounted for the majority of the uplift, with a 3% increase to 687,000 head. Scotland and Northern Ireland sat 11% and 6% increases respectively.
UK clean pig slaughter now totals 1.82 million head for the first two months of the year, up 2.8% on the same period last year.
Carcase weight
Finished pig carcase weights in February averaged 86.9 kg, 1.3kg more than in the previous year, with carcase average weights 300g heavier than the previous month.
Adult pig slaughter
UK slaughter of sows and boars in February totalled 20,000 head, 5% more (1,000 head) than in the same week in the previous year.
AHDB analyst Felicty Rusk commented: “With the cull rate relatively low across last year, the age profile of the herd will have risen. As such, we could continue to see an uplift in culling rates over the coming months.”
Production
Pig meat production reached 77,900 tonnes in February, a 5% increase on the same month last year. bringing the production for the 2020 to the end of February to 163,600 tonnes, 4.1% (6,500 head) more than the same time last year.
