British pig finishing performance closes gap

Latest figures show the performance of the finishingherd in Britain is improving and closing the gap on its swine producing competitorswith regard to finishing performance. The latest report from BPEXon the Cost of Production in Selected Countries also shows Britain is rankedfifth in terms of daily live-weight gain, ahead of the Netherlands, France andGermany.

Latest figures show the performance of the finishing herd in Britain is improving and closing the gap on its swine producing competitors with regard to finishing performance. The latest report from BPEX on the Cost of Production in Selected Countries also shows Britain is ranked fifth in terms of daily live-weight gain, ahead of the Netherlands, France and Germany.

In terms of the feed conversion ratio Great Britain is still running a little behind the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark.

The report, which covers 2012, has now been published and includes figures from much of Europe together with Canada, Brazil and the United States.

"Breeding is still the area of greatest opportunity," said Andrew Knowles, BPEX head of knowledge transfer. "If we were to improve the average breeding herd performance to match the EU average, it would improve the cost of production by 5 pence per kilogram. That means taking pigs weaned per sow per year from 22.8 to 25.41."
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