Pig prices are to continue on their upwards trajectory and reach €2.15/kg next year, according to Teagasc economist Michael McKeon.

Having endured a price of €1.40/kg for all of 2018 and into the first quarter of 2019, pig farms are now profitable. McKeon explained a pig farm requires a margin over feed (MOF) of 50c/kg to break even. In 2019, the average MOF was 58c/kg, which ranged from a low of 28c/kg in Q1 to a high of 81c/kg in Q4.

McKeon said the outlook for 2020 was extremely positive as China continued to grapple with African swine fever (ASF). China has lost 240m pigs to the disease, with its deficit in pork expected to bottom out mid-2020.