Pig market: 18/06/2018

Prices reported to IFA

Comment: Irish pig prices remain unchanged for yet another week, following a weekly kill of 53,687. Quotes from the main export plants remain unchanged at €1.40c/kg. Traditionally, the second quarter of the year would see an uplift in pig prices, but that’s not the case this year, with prices remaining unchanged since mid-January. Combined with an average increase in the cost of pig feed of €25/t, many pig farmers are starting to come under financial pressure, with up to €10 per pig being lost in some cases. Many smaller producers have made a decision to close their gates, with larger units taking the poor returns as an opportunity to de-stock their herds. Poor returns, combined with increasing pressure for even greater animal welfare standards from the EU, will force our national policy makers to re-examine how Ireland’s third-largest agricultural sector is catered for, if at all, in the future.