July 31, 2012

UK pig farmers continue to face losses

Many UK pig farmers are continuing to run at a loss as cost of production continue to soar.

The latest rise in grain prices is inevitably having a dramatic knock-on impact on pig farmers' overheads, new data showed this week.

The figures produced by BPEX Market Intelligence show producers are making a loss on every pig they sell and that does not take into account the full effect of the huge rise in grain prices. They are being paid about GBP1.50 (US$2.36)/kg but that does not cover pig raising costs, 60% of which is feed.

AHDB Senior Analyst Stephen Howarth said, "We have revisited our calculations for the cost of production and the losses per pig are still significant and unsustainable.

"Wheat prices have remained at extremely high levels and show no signs of easing substantially in the near future."

Yorkshire is a principal English pig producing areas, with as much as a quarter of the national pigs herd in the region.