SPP falls for third week in a row as slaughter numbers rise

The headline pig price continues to fall, as prices in Europe stagnate, while last week saw a notable increase in estimated slaughter numbers.

The EU-spec SPP fell for the third consecutive week during the week ended April 13, dropping back by a further 0.34p to stand at 210.67p/kg. The SPP has now lost nearly 1p over the past three weeks and 3p since the end of 2023, despite barley moving during February and March. It is now nearly 7p behind where it was a year ago, when pig prices were still rising.

The much more volatile APP, which includes premium pigs, gained 0.78p during the week ended April 6, more than cancelling out the previous week’s losses, to stand at 211.93p/kg. This put it nearly 1p ahead of the SPP for the week.

Having gained 16.5p in the February and March, the EU reference price dropped back by 0.7p during the week ended April 7 to stand at 187.3p/kg. This meant the gap to the equivalent UK reference price expanded slightly to 21.3p, albeit still much more manageable than the 37p gap at the start of February.

Estimated GB slaughterings for the week ended April 13, were 13,000 up on the previous four-day week at 158,699. This was 5,000 more than the same week a year ago, but still 19,000 below the 2022 figure, when extra kills were taking place to get through the backlog.

Carcase weights fell back by more than 0.5kg to 91.15kg in the SPP sample during the week ended April 14, still more than 1kg up on the same week in 2023.

Alistair Driver | National Pig Association

MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) – The first shipment of Russian pork has been delivered to the Chinese market according to Miratorg, the first company to begin deliveries after China lifted restrictions on Russian pork imports last September.

A consignment of products weighing 27 tonnes was produced at the holding’s meat processing complex in the Belgorod region and sent from Selyatino station on March 7 by rail to Vladivostok. From there, it was loaded onto a ship to the port of Nansha in China. Russian transport company Fesco organized the intermodal shipment process.

The container arrived at the Chinese port after one month in transit, from where the importer unloaded the shipment into his warehouse on April 13.

“We greatly value the Chinese market and take a responsible attitude towards fulfilling all the veterinary requirements of the importing country. The goal is to increase supply volumes in the coming years and expand the range of meat products in accordance with the taste preferences of Chinese residents.

The company independently ensures 100% quality control and complete traceability of products at all stages from “field to table,” Miratorg’s press service said.

Interfax

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Six people have been charged with aggravated trespass after a protest at a pig abattoir.

Operations at the pig processing plant run by Cranswick Country Foods in Watton, Norfolk, were disrupted when animal rights protesters made their way into the site at around 6am on Wednesday.

By early afternoon, Norfolk Police had arrested seven people at the Brandon Road facility, and six have now been charged.

The six arrested have all been charged with aggravated trespass and are due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on 10 May.

A seventh person, a woman in her 20s, has been bailed on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass and will appear at Wymondham police investigation centre on 2 July.

 ITV News Anglia

Also: Vegan Activists Occupy Cranswick Abattoir, Seven Arrested

Australian goatmeat exports for 2023 reached their second highest volume on record for a calendar year since 2014.

A total of 33,891 tonnes of shipped weight (swt) Australian goatmeat was exported in 2023, a significant increase on the 21,831 swt exported in 2022.

While volume was up, the value of exports was down, reflecting the decline in export goatmeat prices from over $12/kg to below $7/kg over the past 18 months.

Australia’s top three goatmeat export markets for volume in 2023 were the United States, China and South Korea, reflecting the significant increase in volumes exported to China.

China has now overtaken Korea as our second largest export market, despite Korea also increasing its volume.

Market share and export volumes to these three markets in 2023:

• The US accounted for 43% of Australian goatmeat exports, with volume increasing to 14,477 swt in 2023, up from 12,505 swt in 2022.
• China accounted for 20% of Australian goatmeat exports, with volume increasing to 6,757 swt in 2023, up from 290 swt in 2022.
• South Korea accounted for 18% of Australian goatmeat exports, with volume increasing to 5,994 swt in 2023, up from 3,757 swt in 2022.

A number of other markets also increased their volumes in 2023, including Trinidad and Tobago, and to a lesser extent, Malaysia and New Zealand.

Meat & Livestock Australia 

Police have been called to a Norfolk abattoir where anti-meat demonstrators are staging a protest above one of the slaughterhouses.

Ollie Radcliffe | Eastern Daily Press

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Hilton Food Group is planning further geographic expansion and potential takeover deals after profits jumped by nearly two-thirds last year.

The food packaging company, which supplies major supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, and Waitrose, reported bumper pre-tax profits growth of 64.2 percent to £ 48.6 million in 2023.

Its UK seafood arm returned to operating profitability thanks to price hikes and new business contracts after being heavily impacted the previous year by surging cost inflation and supply chain disruption.

Hilton’s core meat segment also performed strongly amid volume growth in the Asia-Pacific region and a ‘resilient outturn’ across the UK and Europe.

In the British Isles, the firm’s revenue increased by 3.7 per cent at constant currency levels to £1.33billion as raw material price rises offset declining volumes.

Steve Murrells CBE, chief executive of Hilton Foods, said: ‘Over the past year, we’ve remained focused on executing our strategy, which has resulted in a good performance against a challenging market.

‘I am particularly pleased with the results in our seafood category, returning to full-year operating profitability following a successful turnaround.’

Harry Wise | This is Money

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Scotland’s meat industry is at risk of being rendered ‘uncompetitive’ in comparison to the rest of the UK by the imposition of huge cost increases by Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

An April 1st price hike by FSS of 20% for the provision of Official Veterinarians (OVs) and a 17% rise in the cost of Meat Hygiene Inspectors (MHIs) has been described as excessive and unacceptable by the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW).

“The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England and Wales is, in contrast, raising its OV rate by 4% and MHI rate by 10%, leaving both charges well below the levels our members are being required to pay,” said SAMW President, Ian Bentley. “If the FSS increases are allowed to stand without any abatement, they will impact our businesses, the staff our members employ and the wider farm-based rural economy from which we draw our raw materials.”

SAMW has discussed the issue with senior staff at FSS and written to the Scottish Government Minister for Public Health, Jenni Minto, warning that the planned 20% and 17% cost increases ‘will have a detrimental effect on the industry’ to the extent of ‘jeopardising’ member businesses ‘competitiveness and sustainability’.

“Individual members are shocked at the level of OV and MHI increases they are now facing, especially when compared to their own efforts to keep processing plant cost rises closer to the 4% level which FSA is achieving,” said Mr Bentley.

One business owner said he would never be able to negotiate a 20% rise with his own customers and would never accept such an approach from a commercial supplier.  Another business executive commented that if FSS was his supplier in the commercial world then it wouldn’t be his supplier anymore.

“We understand the pressures under which FSS has been operating, with its need to absorb the Scottish Government’s civil service wage rise of 7% for 2023/24 and the introduction of a 35-hour-week from October this year,” said Mr Bentley. “According to FSS, this equates to a cost recovery requirement of £424,000.

Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers 

Improved demand has fuelled a welcome increase in EU pork prices over the past six weeks or so. 

The first five weeks of the year saw EU pi prices drop off sharply, losing on average 12p/kg, on the back of seasonally weak demand. However, in the latest six weeks, ending March 17 prices have recovered, gaining 14p to average 185.63p/kg.

This has significantly reduced the gap to UK pig prices – the latest EU reference price was 23p behind the UK reference price – reducing the competiveness of EU pork imports.

All key producing nations have recorded strong growth in recent weeks on the back of tightening supplies, according to AHDB analyst Freya Shuttleworth.

“The driving force behind these price increases has been reported as an uplift in demand alongside the continued tightening of supply,” she said.

EU pigmeat production last year was the lowest volume recorded in over a decade, at 20.6 million tonnes, a 7% decline year on year, following a 6% fall in volumes in 2022. These declines have been driven by reduced slaughter numbers which are also back 7% year on year.

“Forecasts for 2024 predict further decline in pig meat production, with the contraction in herd size seen over the last couple of years not expected to recover,” Ms Shuttleworth added.

Alistair Driver | Pig World

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