The pig sector urgently needs to see an increase in the price of pigmeat if it is to continue being on the shelves, the president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Tim Cullinan has said.
Cullinan said that the meat processing industry has a responsibility to be part of the survival of the Irish pig sector and it can do this by increasing the price offered immediately.
“We need to see a substantial increase in the price of pigmeat urgently. If retailers are serious about having Irish pigmeat on the shelves, the increase needs to be passed back along the supply chain to keep farmers viable,” he said.
A price rise of 20c/kg was announced two weeks ago, which brought prices up to €1.70/kg, although the effect of this was immediately eroded by further increases in feed costs, according to the IFA.
Speaking at a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine yesterday (April 13), chairman of Meat Industry Ireland (MII) Philip Carroll, said that the Irish pig price is 10% higher than the EU average.
“Processors have done everything possible to support their producer suppliers over this period, something which I believe is recognised by all in the sector.
“Processors have worked to secure market price increases here on the home market with secondary processors and with retailers. Some progress has been made but more is needed,” Carroll added.
IFA Pig Committee chair, Roy Gallie, said the substantial increases pig farmers had expected to come, need to come much quicker from the marketplace, and in turn from the processors.
“Farmers are haemorrhaging losses for over six months now at unprecedented levels and this cannot be sustained any longer with breakeven over €2.10/kg.
“Farmers need at least 50c/kg on today’s prices to be covering their costs,” Gallie said.
Figures from Teagasc estimate that pig farmers are losing €56,000 a month on average, and that these losses will exceed €160 million by early 2023.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine yesterday announced a €13 million support package for the sector that will result in a maximum payment of €70,000 per farmer, “subject to conditionality”.
Vice chair of the IFA Pig Committee, William Murphy, said this is welcome but farmers need an injection of working capital now:
“We acknowledged the €13m fund yesterday, but we have no detail yet. The payment of €70,000 per single undertaking is only going to cover the losses on an average size 600 sow unit for circa six weeks.”