THE number of slaughtered pigs has increased by 2,7% in the first-half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, an indication that the sector has started picking up following the drought experienced in the 2015/16 cropping season, an industry official has said.

Pig Industry Board director Andrew Shoniwa told NewsDay in emailed responses recently that in the first six months of the year, a total of 79 780 pigs were slaughtered in the registered abattoirs.

“The number of slaughtered pigs was 2,7% higher than that slaughtered during the same period in 2017. The quantity of pork produced through registered abattoirs during the first-half of 2018 was 6,021,427kg,” Shoniwa said.

“The amount of pork produced during the first half of 2018 was 11.6% higher than that produced during the same period in 2017. The quantity of pork produced through registered abattoirs increased by a bigger margin than the number slaughtered, indicating that on average heavier pigs were slaughtered during the first half of 2018 than during the same period in 2017,” he said.

In the period under review, Shoniwa said the major challenges faced by industry were the periodic stock-outs of imported feed ingredients, veterinary drugs and vaccines.

“Soyabean meal, the main protein source in pig feeds, was not readily available. The price of the imported ingredients also increased during the period. The producer and wholesale prices of pork decreased during the first-half of the year,” he said.

He said the producer price ranged from $4.10 to $4.30 in January, but decreased to $3.10 to $3.20 in June.

The producer prices, however, have started to increase, he said.

Currently, the producer prices were ranging from $3.50 to $3.65 per kg.

In the second half of 2018, pork producers have targeted to produce around 12 500 tonnes.

“I cannot give a figure of the number of pigs that we expect to slaughter through registered abattoirs, but what I can give is the tonnage of pork that we think is going to be produced through the abattoirs,” Shoniwa said.

“Given the performance achieved in the first half of the year, we are predicting that around 12 500 tonnes of pork will be produced through the registered abattoirs in 2018. The current pork prices are good.”