Having reached its highest point since September in late June, at €149 per 100kg, the average then fell back.

Slight increases in the last two weeks took it back to nearly €145 per 100kg. This is around €24 lower than at the same point last year, as increased supplies and sluggish demand, both on EU and export markets, put pressure on returns.

Combined with further weakening of the euro, this means that the gap between UK and EU prices has widened again, reaching almost 30p/kg in the latest week.

The fall in the EU average price over the last four weeks was mainly confined to northern Member States.

The German price fell by €9 per 100kg, with similar falls in most of its neighbours. Indeed, the Dutch price fell by nearly €13 during this period, perhaps partly due to its leading position on the Greek market, which was effectively closed due to the lack of cash available to pay suppliers. Danish prices also fell but by only €2.

The lack of imports meant that Greek pigs were nearly €17 per 100kg more expensive during the period, making them the highest continental prices at over €170 per 100kg.

While not seeing rises on this scale, markets in the rest of southern Europe remained firmer than those further north, with French and Italian prices rising by €5, while Spanish quotes were up by nearly €3 from four weeks before.