The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has reported a fall in pig prices, which they say is linked to further backlogs on pig farms as a result of the ongoing staffing crisis hitting processors.
AHDB also cited lower slaughterings and higher carcase weights as indicative of the backlogs.
The EU-spec SPP fell to 160.22p/kg in the week ended August 14, down by 0.57p. AHDB explained that the change in price was in part caused by relatively low prices on the continent, as well as reports of difficulties processing pigs through the supply chain.
Estimated slaughter was relatively low at 163,400 head, reinforcing the reports of a backlog of pigs developing on some farms. AHDB added that the average carcase weight was also up nearly 1kg from last week at 87.20kg.
The board further reported that pig prices are now back to around mid-July levels and remain more than 3p below a year earlier. Prices remain 7p above the five-year average.
The National Pig Association (NPA) senior policy adviser Charlie Dewhirst thanked all NPA members who had written to their local MPs on how the current issues were affecting their businesses. He said: "The more noise we can raise politically on this issue the more likely we are to get our voice heard and see some action."
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
