January 5, 2016
UK pork production up 1% in November
UK pork production in November increased 1% to 75,300 tonnes from November 2014, the lowest growth rate (together with September) since early 2014 when production was affected by reduced breeding herd due to high feed prices in 2012, data from Defra showed, according to the UK Pig Meat Market Update released this month by the AHDB Pork.
Clean pig slaughterings during the month also rose, by 2%, to 885,800 head compared with November 2014.
UK pork exports in October, meanwhile, were little changed from the same month in 2014, at 17,400 tonnes. Sales to Ireland, China and the Netherlands increased while those to countries Germany, Denmark and Hong Kong declined.
Sales to the US were particularly strong as they were three times as much as in October 2014 and accounted for over 5% of the monthly total.
The value of exports in October fell 5% year-on-year to £18.9 million (US$27.8 million) as the average price was down equally by 5%.
UK pork imports rose 11% in October to 33,900 tonnes from the same month in 2014. Shipments from Denmark, mainly made up of bone-in legs, rose 20% while those from Spain almost doubled to 3,100 tonnes.
Since prices were much lower than the previous year, the value of pork imports was down 1% to £55.7 million (around US$82 million as of Jan. 5, 2016, exchange rate).