The main cost that has shot up for the pig sector in recent weeks is diesel and heating oil for farrowing rooms run on boilers, IFA pig committee chair Michael Caffrey has said.

“Electricity costs are definitely going to follow in the next couple of months,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

In terms of pig prices Caffrey said: “Pig prices haven’t changed much in the last two to three months.

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“Depending on your grading its ranging from €1.74/kg to €1.78/kg and if your grade is right you’ll probably put another 2c to 4c on top of that.”

Caffrey said there is uncertainty going forward for the sector. “We have to keep an eye on this space but it is definitely very concerning.”

Speaking about costs on pig farms at the moment, IFA vice-pig chair Thomas Hogan has said that wage bills will probably increase as the year progresses, as well as the transport costs of pigs, feed, electricity and the maintenance of housing.

Hogan said that slurry is a big problem on pig farms. “The price of diesel in getting rid of that slurry affects that, on the other side of it, with the price of fertiliser going through the roof you would hope that the product we have is more valuable and the Government might ease the restrictions on the movement of it.”

In relation to pig prices, Hogan stated: “Since last year, pig prices have dropped 55-58c/kg which was substantial.

“The price of pigs would want to be where it is at now because the war really has put a spanner in the works in terms of input prices. I would expect that with this situation with the war affecting input costs will probably put a minimum of 6-7c/kg on total production costs which could put us in a loss-making situation,” he said.

Poultry sector

Meanwhile, IFA poultry committee chair Brendan Soden said that the price paid to farmers for their eggs has not been kept in line with inflation.

“We have come to a point now, when the demand can’t be met because it’s not worthwhile making the investment for farmer,” he said.

“We have seen this exact same scenario happen in the UK in 2022/23 when shelves were left empty and rationing of eggs was introduced, and it’s playing out the same way here, even though a lot of supermarkets here operate in the UK.

“You would think they might have seen the signs, if they’re not getting their full egg order every week.”

He discussed how rising input costs like energy, feed and haulage will affect the poultry sector even more down the line.

Additionally, he said that it is putting a lot of doubt in people’s minds that might have been considering looking into going into egg production.

For someone to enter the poultry sector, Soden said: “you’re talking about, on average, investing between €1.2 to €1.4 million to earn after repayments slightly less than the minimum wage every week, which is not a great business plan. There are better options to invest that level of money.”

The IFA poultry chair said that some farmers might leave the sector in the coming years due to price pressures and also because they have no one coming on after them.

“We have sought an increase of 2c an egg for free range and organic production and 1c an egg for barn eggs,” Soden stated. “This must be ring fenced and returned directly to all egg producers.

“This is not an excessive ask. It reflects cost increases since 2022, the erosion of premiums, and the widening gap between Irish and EU pricing.

“The other recommendation we have made is to get contracts in place, currently we’re not on contracts we’re just on a verbal agreement.

“In the UK there are a lot of different contract packages available now and they offer security. You could have a cost of production model, so if there’s inflation through your cost, you’re always guaranteed a margin,” he said.

“Contracts can also be indexed on things like feed price or pullet price. In the UK they have also started offering egg packers longer contracts so that the packer can in turn offer farmers longer contracts.”

Soden commented that it’s great to see Irish consumers buying so much eggs.

He said: “The demand for eggs is huge at the minute especially with young people.”