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The number of in-pig sows and gilts were both down by around 11% in June when compared with the previous year, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
There were just under 1.5m non-breeding pigs and 137,200 breeding pigs recorded in the CSO’s June 2022 pig survey, with these overall numbers down about 3.5% on 12 months’ prior.
Although the number of older pigs has not changed significantly, there are 50,000 less young pigs under 20kg, equating again to an 11% drop.
The size of the sow herd was expected to drop amid reports earlier this year that some farmers were forced to sell up as margins moved further into the red on piggeries.
Other farmers were reported to have stopped serving sows to cope with the skyrocketing feed costs.
Prices began to turn in recent months, with the CSO reporting that pig prices rose 18% in the year up to July, however the average pig farmer is still set to lose €330,000 this year.
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