Tap into £7bn pork market

PORK SALES in Britain could be worth more than £7bn a year, according to new figures from the British Pig Executive.

BPEX are also forecasting a slight increase in UK pig slaughtering after a steady decline in numbers over the past seven years.

The annual UK kill in 1998 was 16 million head, which compares with a reported 9 million head turnover in 2004.

Average carcass weights have risen by 9% over the same period from 68.5kg in 1998 to 76.4kg in 2004.

This rise in average carcass weights has added value to producer’s returns at a time when margins have been under pressure.

The farm to retail price differential at the start of 2005 is recorded at 276% for fresh pork and 350% for bacon, allowing for extra processing costs.

Growing demand for sausages, bacon and ready meals should help increase consumption of domestic pigmeat at a time when the cost of imports has risen significantly.

The EU mainland average pigmeat price is currently 94.5p/kg, compared with 87.5p a year ago, meaning that imports have become 6% more expensive.

The euro is also marginally dearer over the twelve month period, rising from a value of 65.8p to 67p, adding to the delivered price of EU pigmeat imported to the UK.

If BPEX is right to forecast a slight rise in UK production and imports remain more expensive, domestic producers should be able to secure a larger share of the £7 billion home market.