Pig market: 15/05/2017

Prices reported to IFA

Comment: No change to the official prices reported by the Department of Agriculture for the past few weeks and it’s a similar story on the ground, speaking to pig suppliers. What is becoming very clear is the gap that has developed between the EU pig price, including the UK, and the Irish price. Pig farmers are realistic business people and understand only too well the movement and volatility that can exist in the pig market, but this gap has been allowed to develop and persist for too long now. Irish pig farmers can’t afford to be at the bottom of the factory price table across Europe, while paying the top price for feed, and stay in business. Chair of the IFA pigs committee Tom Hogan called on all pig processors to raise quotes this week, in line with the increases gained by European pig producers over the past few weeks.