There were reductions across all categories of pigs. This included the breeding herd, with a fall of 3 per cent in the number of sows, with a similar decline for in-pig sows and gilts.

This is likely to be sufficient to ensure that fewer piglets are produced in the coming months, keeping supplies relatively tight through the first half of 2017, at least.

The number of maiden gilts was also lower, albeit by just 1 per cent, suggesting that higher prices over the summer weren’t enough to make producers sufficiently optimistic to expand again.

The reduced breeding herd is beginning to have an impact on the number of pigs being raised for slaughter too. The biggest fall was among pigs over 50kg, which would be expected to be marketed in the remainder of 2016, indicating that supplies will be tight over this period too.

These new figures reinforce the trend reported in Denmark and across the EU, in the June census and give little indication that production is set to return to growth in the immediate future.