UK posts record pork production

In 2021, 1 million tons were produced, the highest since 1999.

According to official figures, 1.02 million tons of pork were produced in the UK last year. This is the highest level of production recorded in the last 22 years and is also 4% higher than in 2020. In 2021, 11.1 million pigs were slaughtered, up 2% from the previous year. In December 2021 alone, 952,000 pigs were sent for slaughter, the same number as in December last year. However, the average carcass weight was significantly higher at 90.9kg as many pigs were on the farm for much longer than planned, according to AHDB.

“In aggregate, this means that with a production volume of 90,000 tons, production was 4% more than in the same month a year ago, despite the same number of working days. Problems in the sector remain, as processing capacity at some plants has been further reduced in recent days. Combined with less slaughter around the Christmas period, these factors will not help reduce the number of pigs still being registered on farms,” said Duncan Wyatt, AHDB Analyst.