UK pork production rises in first quarter of 2026
Output and slaughter increase year on year as carcase weights stay elevated across early 2026
UK – UK pork production totalled 256,800 tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, which was 5.3% higher than the same period in 2025 and 0.5% above the level recorded in the final quarter of 2025.
Monthly performance strengthened in March as output reached 7,000 tonnes more than in February, a rise of 9%, while year-on-year growth for the month stood at 8,600 tonnes, equal to 11%.
Clean pig slaughter in March 2026 reached 925,500 head, an increase of 10% compared with February, representing an additional 81,000 head, while total clean pig slaughter for the first quarter came to 2.6 million head, up 2.3% from Q1 2025.
Regional performance and herd movements
Regional trends showed mixed movement across the UK in the first quarter, with England and Wales recording a 4% increase in slaughter, equivalent to 81,000 head and accounting for about 80% of total UK output.
In contrast, Northern Ireland registered a 3% decline of 13,000 head, representing around 18% of national slaughter, while Scotland experienced a sharper reduction of 17%, or 10,000 head, contributing roughly 2% of the total.
Slaughter of sows and boars also moved higher, rising by 3.6% in Q1 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, which equated to an increase of 1,800 head.
Weights remain elevated across the supply chain
Average clean pig carcase weights reached 94.2 kg in the first quarter of 2026, which was 3 kg above the level recorded a year earlier and remained above 92 kg for the past six months.
Weights peaked at 94.7 kg in January before easing slightly in March by 1.1 kg, although they still remained 2.6 kg higher than in March 2025.
With processing delays and ongoing reports of pigs being carried forward between weeks, market conditions suggest carcase weights are likely to remain relatively high in the near term rather than fall sharply.
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