Last week, the Spanish hog market price set a new record of 1.795 EUR/kg liveweight. That's about 87 cents/lb.
The reason for the record prices in Spain is the reduction in the number of pigs available for slaughter in Spain and in Europe as a whole.
The challenge for Spain is the increase in sow mortality, which used to be below 10%, now exceeds 14%.
At the same time, weaning-to-fattening mortality has gone from less than 10% to the current 14%. Fewer hogs on the market have raised prices while increasing hog production costs.