Pig prices are positive; words that we haven’t been able to write that often over the last number of years. However, the league shows that we are pretty much on par with the same month last year and, as I am reliably told, nowhere near where we were 25 years ago, when the €2/kg equivalent was paid freely.

Ireland, in June, has been marginally ahead of the EU average, although the EU market is now beginning to heat up with the weather. As I write, the latest German and Danish price increases have been announced. What is driving this and how long it will continue for is the question.

At the most recent Bord Bia Meat and Livestock Board meeting, a number of market drivers were outlined.

Firstly, the EU sow breeding herd fell by 1.7% in the December 2013 census compared with the corresponding period in 2012 and, with this fall, the EU Commission estimates that pig numbers will fall by 1.4%, or 3.5 million head, to 243 million head in 2014.

The European barbecue season started earlier than usual this year in response to high temperatures across the EU. Furthermore, European trade is also helped significantly by Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) in the US.

Although US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is confident that an effective vaccine has been developed, secondary infections are now appearing on US farms, so the problem is far from contained.

The EU has thankfully introduced some safeguards but history is a great teacher that we must remain vigilant.

Pig meat is a global market of which Irish production is a mere drop in the ocean but, as part of the EU, we are the world’s largest exporter and this export market, which is down 10% year on year, is vital to the Irish pig price. This drop can be attributed almost in totality to the Russian ban, which the French claim is costing EU farmers €10 to €15 per pig.

Russian indigenous production is growing exponentially and the WTO investigation into the ban is moving at a snail’s space. It will be another six to eight months before any decision will materialise.

Irish retail prices have increased marginally over the last 12 to 24 months but it is Irish exports which are really driving on.

Import growth in south east Asia is building strongly, especially in South Korea (following herd liquidation in 2013) and in Hong Kong.

Export figures

January to April export figures are up by almost 13% in volume (7,000t) with an extra 6,000t exported between Britain, China and South Korea, more than compensating for the loss of 3,500t to the closed Russian market.

Despite the Russian ban, and subsequently plenty of EU pork in the market, US exports increased 11% in volume and 14% in value to 776,601mt and $2.25bn, respectively, in the first four months of the year.

While approximately eight million pigs are missing from the US system, weights have been slightly heavier.

However, as the number of new cases with PEDV peaked in February, the real fall-off in slaughter numbers should be expected six months later between July and September. The bottom line is, pig meat is in demand and the value of it continues to rise.

Country-of-origin labelling

The long running saga on country-of-origin labelling hit a semi-setback last week when Commissioner Ciolos rejected the European Parliament’s attempt to widen the country-of-origin meat labelling to include more details than what was previously agreed.

The Parliament was calling for an addition of the animal’s birthplace alongside requirements on rearing and slaughter. The Commissioner stated, however, that this would be impractical and costly for consumers.

Delegations from Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal and Belgium supported the Commissioner’s response. A Commission report into extending origin labelling to meat in processed products in December last year similarly suggested that the move would be costly and ineffective, which was also duly supported by the Irish Government.