BPEX: Cost of pig production, £90 million loss
The latest cost of production figures from BPEX have been revised upwards following receipt of updated performance data, meaning the cumulative loss to the industry is about £90 million over the last 18 months.
The provisional data for the first quarter of this year showed January 169.2p per kg, February 165.3 and March 164.3. The revised figures for the same period are 173.0 168.8 and 167.7.
Senior Analyst Stephen Howarth said: “Estimates for recent months have been revised upwards following receipt of updated physical performance data.
“This shows the impact that the adverse weather earlier in the year had on herd productivity.
“However, overall costs have declined significantly since the start of the year as global cereal and oilseed prices have eased back as prospects for the 2013/14 season have improved. Nevertheless, costs will need to remain low relative to prices for a sustained period if producers are to recover the losses made in recent years.”
The latest provisional AHDB figures show pig producers are back in the black for the first time in nearly three years.
Average costs in June were estimated to be around three pence lower than revised estimates for the month before, standing at just over 164p per kg.
With the DAPP passing this level at the end of May and heading higher still in June, producers stand to make a significant positive margin for the first time since the autumn of 2010. Nevertheless, costs are still more than 6p per kg higher than they were in June 2012.
Join 18,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the pigsector, three times a week.
