Stark drop in pig numbers
Pig industry figures have called on Government to provide some ‘proper support’ to halt the decline in production as the industry contracts.
New anonymised data from AgroVision, shared with the National Pig Association (NPA), has shown supplies will quickly switch from surplus to shortage on the back of a drop in sow numbers and services and weaners which has accelerated in recent months.
The data represents about 60 per cent of the GB herd, with AgroVision confident the figures were representative of the wider industry.
Weaners saw a huge 23 per cent drop year-on-year to April 2022, with further declines expected in May and June.
Sow numbers for April 2022 stood at 181,000, a 13 per cent year-on-year drop, with sow services down 21 per cent year-on-year. The decline since November has been even more dramatic at 32 per cent.
The number of herds recorded by AgroVision fell from 263 in April 2021 to 221 in April 2022.
Alex Black / Farmers Guardian
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