UK clean pig slaughterings in June totalled 845,000, down 2% compared with the same month in 2016, latest data from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) showed.

Slaughterings in the first half reached 5.1 million head, 6% lower than in the same period last year. The reduction in GB slaughterings would continue into July, AHDB Pork predicted.

The decline in June reflects the industry sentiment that UK pig meat supplies have been tight since the start of the year, the pork division of the UK Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board noted.

"Nonetheless", it added, "it is thought that the UK pig herd will recover during the second half of 2017, following an assumed contraction in the domestic breeding herd last year".

Sow slaughterings also declined 7% in June to 21,600 head, supporting reports that producers were no longer rationalising their herds.