IN BRIEF
IN BRIEF
THE recent dispersal of the NPD Manor Hybrid herd of breeding pigs at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, saw a top price of £262 paid for a sow due with her second litter early in April. Those due to farrow in the next two months were typically making between £180 and £250, according to age and condition, say auctioneers Lacy Scott and Knight. Gilts made to £104; and boars topped at £230 for a 10-month-old animal.
LATEST figures from the EU show that at the end of 1996, nearly 40,000t of beef was in intervention stores in the UK. Two other countries had larger amounts – Germany and France, with 117,605t and 84,164t, respectively. Across the EU-15, the total was just over 363,000t.
DESPITE the strength of sterling, pork exports continue to be strong. The Meat and Livestock Commissions export survey shows that in the week to Mar 1, over 3000t was exported, 38% up on the same period last year. Germany has accounted for much of the increase, taking a 1997 cumulative total of 12,200t to the end of February, up 39% on last year.