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High feed costs and consistently low prices for the pig sector are adding to fears that some farmers could be forced to leave the industry, on the back of this IFA pig chair Tom Hogan is seeking sector specific funding for the industry.
“We would also hope that banks would be willing to alleviate some of the pressure and we’ll be seeking a meeting with Minister Michael Creed to see if some money in the upcoming Future Growth Loan Scheme could be set aside specifically for the pig sector,” Hogan told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Low-cost loans for farmers under the Future Growth Loan Scheme are expected to become available in March and Minister Creed has so far said that they will be aimed at new entrants into farming.
I’m calling on all the factories and stakeholders to share some of the pain
IFA pig chair Tom Hogan also voiced concerns that another potential price cut was on the cards and urged processors to reconsider.
“I’m calling on all the factories and stakeholders to share some of the pain and costs of 2018,” Hogan said.
“Cashflow and finances are very tight or even non-existent on pig farms at this stage.”
“There’s huge pressure on the market and we’re only getting about €1.40/kg for pigs when the breakeven price is €1.60/kg.”
Like all sectors of Irish agriculture the pig sector is also vulnerable to the potential fallout from a no-deal Brexit, with 56% of all Irish pigmeat shipped to the UK annually according to Bord Bia.
Some 466,000 pigs also travel north of the border for processing every year and pigs going north for processing would attract a tariff of 41.2c/kg on their live weight if WTO tariffs were to come into force post-Brexit.
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