UK pig herd grows 4% last year

The English pig herd has grown by 4% over the last year, according to the latest figures released by Defra, which is very encouraging says industry strategy body BPEX.

The December 2009 sample census results showed that the breeding herd stands at 438,000 – up 4% against previous December. The breeding herd consisted of marginally fewer sows in pig, a reduction of 0.4% to 365,000 heads, although the number of gilts in pig increased by nearly 13% to 52,000 head in December 2009 compared with year earlier statistics.

The number of fattening pigs, or pigs for finishing, in England totalled 3.3 million, an increase of 1% compared with year earlier census information.

Overall, the total pig population in England in December totalled 3.75 million, just over 1% higher than a year earlier.

Market Intelligence senior analyst James Park said, "These results support the current quiet optimism within the industry although they do not take into account the challenging weather conditions in January which may well have affected productivity, growth and mortality rates."