November 14, 2022

UK pork output in October up from previous month

Data from the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) showed that the country produced 85,000 tonnes of pork in October 2022, 1,200 tonnes (1.4%) higher compared to September 2022 but 900 tonnes (1.1%) lower year-on-year, the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board reported.

The number of clean swine slaughtered in October increased by 5,400 head (0.6%) to 926,000. Although throughputs are up from September figures, they are 7,200 head (0.8%) lower than in October 2021. However, with 9.3 million head processed so far this year, throughput has remained constant compared to last year.

Carcase weights of clean dressed pigs were up for the second month in a row, averaging 89.6kg. Compared to September weights, this is up 900g (1%) but down 1.4kg (1.5%) from October of the previous year. On-farm backlogs that started in late-2021 led to higher average weights, which are still noticeable with average carcase weights that are higher than the 5-year average, up 2.8kg (3.2%). This is true even though weights have decreased since the highs of January.

Production for the first 10 months of the year (January to October) has risen by 23,000 tonnes (2.7%) to an estimated 874,000 tonnes. Despite the fact that average carcase weights are starting to decline compared to last year, the higher average carcase weights seen earlier in the year will continue to contribute to the average's overall gain.

-      UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board