May 8, 2008

UK pig slaughtering down 2 percent in March

UK pig slaughter count in March was 698,000 head, down 2 percent on-year, according to the Department for Environment, Forestry and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Total number of pigs slaughtered in the first quarter was 2.3 million compared to 2.2 million in the first quarter of 2007.

In January, the number of slaughtered pigs jumped 46 percent to 28,000. In February, it rose to 40 percent to 23,000 head on-year and March witnessed another increase of 18 percent to 21,000 pigs.

Total pork production in the first quarter was higher, although bacon production had fallen to 41,000 tonnes.