Pig farmers' average net margins almost halved in the final quarter of 2024, against the backdrop of rising feed costs and lower pig prices.
Average margins fell from £19 per head in Q3 to £10 per head in Q4, according to AHDB’s quarterly pork cost of production and margin estimates.
The full economic cost of production for Q4 2024 increased from 190p/kg deadweight to 197p/kg, driven by an 8p rise in estimated feed costs to 124p.
Feed costs accounted for 63% of total costs, compared with 61% in Q3 last year, the levy organisation's figures show.
Other costs were largely unchanged: energy prices also increased in Q4, but this was offset by a fall in fuel prices and a slight deduction in interest costs.
After consistently averaging 212p (APP) during the first three quarters of 2024, average pig prices fell by 3p to around 209p/kg in Q4.
This resulted in an average margin of 11.5p per kg across the quarter, equating to £10.31 per head, AHDB said.
Overall, pig producers saw, on average, a profitable year, with margins per head of £16, £15 and £19 over the first three quarters.
However, this followed a devastating 10 consecutive quarters of negative margins, peaking at -£58 per head in Q3 2022.
During this time, the pig sector accumulated losses of more than £700 million.
