Business and Policy August 2026 – Sector Focus: Pigs

The pig sector is in the midst of another trough with producers once again selling their pigs at well below the cost of production. With producers facing a perfect storm of rising costs, oversupply and EU prices falling leading to a sharp drop in prices. Combined with factory and processor contract issues, 2026 has already seen a significant reduction in the breeding herd and the loss of a number of independent producers.    

Prices have fallen since August 2025 and continued to drift downwards through 2026, losing around 30 p/kg over the past year or around £28 per finished pig. In the past year producers have seen their margins swing from black to red with substantial losses per pig now being made with little sign of improved prospects in the short term.

Standard Pig Prices (SPP EU Spec)

Prices started  August 2025 at just over 208 p/kg however have slowly crept downwards of the past 12 months, falling to 177 p/kg in May, with prices hovering slightly above this since, reaching 179.70 p/kg by mid-July (AHDB). Crucially however, is the fact that there is a wide variation in prices being paid to producers with most processors having given notice to independent producer contracts. Some producers are finding numbers cut or worse having supply arrangements terminated completely forcing them to find alternative outlets for pigs on the “spot” market. Spot prices for bacon pigs in mid-July were just under 165 p/kg according to the Tribune. Scottish producers are suffering even more with prices as much as 30 p/kg below the SPP (NFUS). EU prices also have a major impact on the UK market, with the price differential between UK and the cheaper EU product continuing to be very high (nearly 50 p/kg, around twice the differential normally seen (AHDB Pork)) as the continued effects of ASF in Spain impacts on export destinations. This makes EU pig meat much more competitive and attractive to UK buyers. 

Slaughter Weights

Slaughter weights have crept downwards over the summer as backlogs have been cleared following some factory issues which had seen average slaughter weights as high as 95 kg as recently as April. Currently, average slaughter weights are just under 90kg for the first time in a nearly a year.   

Cull Sows & Weaners

Cull sow prices have unsurprisingly dipped sharply in recent months as the breeding herd in both the UK and EU is contracting due to poor trading conditions and are currently around 23 p/kg (United Pig Co-operative), less than half the value seen at the turn of the year. Falling finisher prices has seen pressure on weaner values, particularly with ample supply.  

Costs of Production

The latest published margins from AHDB (for Q1 of 2026) showed pig producer margins had gone from positive to negative from the previous quarter to a loss of 4 p/kg (£4 per pig) compared to positive margin of 11 p/kg (£10 per pig) in Q4 of 2025. This was mostly due a drop in price of 13 p/kg between the two quarters with feed and other costs also increasing slightly. Feed continued to make up 60% of the total costs. With the next set of margins due to be published soon by AHDB, the continued fall in the SPP seen through the spring and summer along with increasing costs, losses are expected to be much greater in Q2. This will be exacerbated by the fact that many producers are not receiving the SPP and being paid a significant discount for their pigs. Losses are racking up for pig producers and following a settled spell of positive (albeit fairly small) margins, they are now eating away at their reserves.

Figure 1.  GB Standard Pig Price (SPP EU Spec) vs. Cost of production Q1 24 to Q1 2026, (Source: AHDB Pork) 

 

Scottish Pig Producers Support Scheme

July saw the Scottish Government launch a support scheme for independent pig producers in light of the challenging market conditions and losses currently being made due to the low prices being received. The scheme will run until the 31st August and will provide the offer of support for the period from 1st March to the end of the scheme. The support payment will be based on the difference between the price received by the producer and 85% of the weekly SPP with the total fund extending to £2m. 

 

George Chalmers, george.chalmers@sac.co.uk