The latest BPEX Quarterly Report (which gives data for the period up to December 2011) shows the pork sector performed well. The retail market overview paints a mildly contradictory picture to Defra forecasts which predicted pig and poultry profitability would fall, though the forecasts for 2012 could still see some pain on the horizon for producers.

The report, which covers home-produced pig products and imports, revealed pig meat prices ended at their highest ever level for the period, having risen in October and November. However, the report showed prices dropped off in January.

The BPEX report also showed that, as production costs have remained more or less static, many producers are still experiencing loss overall. Nevertheless, figures for the 52 weeks to Christmas Day showed pork sales were higher than the five year average. For sausages and bacon in particular, expenditure and volume both increased.

UK pork price is about 14p per kg above the EU average in mid-January, its highest level for nearly a year. Analysis has shown that an increasing number of Britons are turning to pork during the recession, prompting a small resurgence in the meat, which was the best performing red meat in the UK in the last quarter of 2011.

BPEX Head of Supply Chain Development Andrew Knowles said, "The report paints a picture of the sales of pork, bacon and ham in figures. It shows the top four retailers are responsible for 72 per cent of all the pork sold in this country. It is an important publication for people in that sector as it gives them the background information they need to read the market."