The development of a further price reduction in EU pig prices this week is “extremely disappointing” says the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
Noting that the latest downward movement is not “unprecedented” in recent times, IFA national pigs committee chairman, Pat O’Flaherty, added that continental prices had risen and fallen erratically in the recent past.
“Analysts are adamant that this is a blip in the curve,” he said, “and that, over the next few weeks, numbers will balance out with pigs becoming scarce.
“Supporting this, Danish Crown is dropping its weight limits by 2-4kg to encourage farmers to sell pigs earlier as they are expecting a large volume Christmas trade.”
The EU price fall means Ireland’s percentage of the EU average has improved and is currently at 96% of the EU level, as reported to the European Commission for the week beginning September 26.
“We may improve further on the back of the EU drop, of course, but that is not really the direction we would like to see the market moving,” said Mr O’Flaherty (pictured above).
Factory pig throughput in Republic of Ireland export plants for the week ending Oct 1, 2016, was 62,831 head, which was 4,534 more than in the corresponding week in 2015. Slaughterings in ROI export plants is 5.1% ahead of the same period in 2015.