The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue is today (Tuesday, February 22) bringing a €7 million support package for pig farmers to Cabinet.
The Irish pig sector, which has around 300 producers, generates an output of €1 billion annually for the economy but has been suffering serious financial losses in recent months.
Feed and energy costs have spiraled while there has been a drop in the market price received for pigs. There has been a warning that many pig farmers could be forced out of the sector as a result.
Today, Minister McConalogue will bring an “emergency pig package” worth a total of €7 million to Cabinet for approval.
The support package is worth €20,000/farmer and will be paid out to all finisher pig farmers who are members of the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme.
It is expected that the minister will tell his Cabinet colleagues that the support payments must be issued rapidly to support the embattled sector.
The move follows repeated calls for direct supports for Irish pig farmers from politicians and farm lobby groups.
Yesterday, McConalogue called for “concerted EU action” on the difficulties being experienced by the pigment sector.
Ahead of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels, the minister noted that: “Our pig farmers have always been remarkably resilient, but I am acutely aware of the challenges they are facing at present. I will again emphasise today that concerted EU action is needed and is the best course of action.”
A recent Teagasc webinar focused on the embattled sector was told that unprecedented losses of €128 million could be experienced by pig producers – on an average 600-sow unit – over the period September 2021 to August 2022.
And, in the same period, the loss per farmer on such a unit is expected to be close to €450,000.