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Low prices and increased feed costs have led to a 44% increase in the number of sows being slaughtered each week, with fears farmers are being forced to leave the industry.
Tom Sherman, chair of the IFA’s southern region pigs committee said: “Department of Agriculture figures show the number of sows killed every week has increased over the last six to seven weeks to around 2,300 per week.”
During an agriculture committee hearing on Tuesday, Ulster Bank stated that pig farmers had seen “a 43% drop in their financial margin in the last 12 months”.
The IFA pig committee has mounted a series of protests at Musgrave Group-owned SuperValu stores to highlight how cheap pork imports are undercutting Irish produce.
The most recent protest was held in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, on Tuesday evening.
A Musgrave Group spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal: “Having discussed this with the IFA on 21 August, our understanding was that this matter was now resolved. We are always available to meet with them.”
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