The year on year rise has partly been driven by a forecast increase in usage from the UK pig and poultry sector. Low pig prices and a reduction in demand meant, that in some cases, abattoirs had to roll pigs over week on week, causing weights to get larger. The heavier a pig gets, the less efficient it is at converting feed, therefore more feed is being consumed to maintain these weights.

Furthermore, the latest AHDB outlook forecast for UK pig meat production calculates that pig meat production will continue to increase through 2016, causing supplies to remain plentiful. Although this year the growth in production is expected to outweigh demand, an improvement in the balance of trade, with lower imports and higher exports, could reduce the supply/demand imbalance.

In turn, this could result in the pig market becoming more stable than recent years with a possibility of prices rising.