Pig prices are reasonably good at the moment, averaging between €1.78/kg and €1.80/kg, with a low of €1.76 and a high of €1.84 being paid for lighter pigs, the IFA pig chair Tom Hogan has said.

He told the Irish Farmers Journal that, last year, pig prices were a disaster and challenging weather conditions rapidly increased feed costs.

To date this year, prices are around €1.50/kg on average, which is slightly below last year’s price.

"As last year was a disaster, a lot of farmers are still in debt. It will take the rest of the year at least before farmers begin recovering," Hogan said.

Break-even analysis

At present, pig farmers need to receive a minimum of €1.52/kg to €1.53/kg to break even.

The costs of running a pig unit can be broken down into two sections - feed and labour costs.

According to Hogan, “average feed costs for the first five months of the year varied from €1.09/kg to €1.12/kg, with labour costs on average €0.40/kg in total, creating production costs of €1.52/kg”.

However, the price per kg for the first three months of the year has been around €1.41/kg to €1.43/kg. with prices only beginning to rise now.

Feed prices

Feed prices are expected to reduce over the next couple of months, Hogan said.

"Due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) within central Europe and Asia, there is a reduced demand for concentrates which should reduce feed by €15 to €20 per tonne over the coming months.

“Chinese pig production is expected to fall by 30% due to ASF and with China producing half of the world’s pork, a huge reduction in pig numbers is foreseen," he said.

He also expects the demand for Irish pork to increase, especially throughout parts of Europe, with the possibility of China being our biggest importer.

He also expects that “the current pork price will remain the same (€1.78/kg) with the overall average for the year increasing to (€1.63/kg)”.

Hogan said to help prevent ASF entering Ireland, extra safety precautions must be taken.

"The Department must increase biosecurity measures at ports and airports, because if ASF entered Ireland tomorrow, it would have a huge impact on exports and trade," he said.

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