Blank pig slaughterings in March had been 10% down on a yr in the past, the newest legitimate Defra UK slaughter figures display.
A complete 805,000 blank pigs had been slaughtered in the United Kingdom in March, in comparison with 894,000 in March 2023. UK pigmeat manufacturing was once 8.6%, 75,000 tonnes, not up to in March 2023, as carcase weights averaged 90.4kg, relatively down on February.
Moderate weekly slaughter numbers in March, at 182,000 head, had been additionally 10% down on a yr previous and had been 5% down at the weekly reasonable for February.
The March deficit follows a 1.4% year-on-year aid in UK slaughter numbers in February, which translated right into a 5% fall within the weekly reasonable.
The collection of sows and boars slaughtered in March, 16,000, was once 8.9% down on March 23.
The decrease throughput numbers over the outlet months of 2024 mirror the continuing affect of the contraction of the United Kingdom pig breeding herd in 2022, which has confirmed little signal of restoration since, and reviews of latest productiveness problems as a consequence of the relentless rainy climate and a few illness problems.
The shortfall in throughputs is continuous into April. AHDB’s estimated GB slaughterings for the week ended April 6, the second one of the 2 brief Easter weeks, had been 9,000 down at the earlier week at 134,181. This was once 16,000 under the similar week a yr in the past, and greater than 60,000 under the 2022 determine, when additional kills had been happening to get throughout the backlog.