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Without a significant increase in price, the viability of many family pig farms will be called into question by their bank managers and the outcome will not be a good one, IFA pig committee chair Tom Hogan has said.
Current prices range from €1.38c/kg to €1.42c/kg, with the cost of production around €1.60c/kg.
“Farmers are losing up to 20c/kg on factory pigs. This equates to a loss of over €16 on every pig produced," Hogan said.
"Costs are rising and the feed market is showing no signs of abating."
He called for an immediate and substantial rise in price to "give pig farmers some glimmer of hope that 2019 will see a return to breakeven margins, at the very least".
Hogan says he has sought an urgent meeting with the Minister for Agriculture on the issue, but has yet to receive acknowledgement of the request.
Quality Assured
“It is heartbreaking to walk into a local retailer and see imported pigmeat on the shelf, displacing locally-produced pork and bacon.
"This not only displaces Irish pig meat, it jeopardises an entire industry which supports over 10,000 jobs,” said Hogan, calling on secondary processors and retailers to support pig farmers by purchasing Bord Bia-approved Quality Assured pigmeat products from certified plants.
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