A meeting of pig farmers on the issue of falling prices in the sector saw little in the way of answers to their concerns, but the issues in question are "out in the open now".

That's according to the Michael Caffrey, the chairperson of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Pig Committee. The meeting, described as a 'national pig farmers meeting' was held in Portlaoise yesterday (Monday, September 29).

The meeting was organised following a recent "very significant drop" in prices paid to pig farmers, with prices back 32c/kg since July, which the IFA called "unprecedented".

Speaking to Agriland after the meeting, Caffrey said: "There's several concerns but the main concern was the loss of 32c since July [and] where are we going.

"When you see the loss of 32c and all that is coming down the tracks vis-a-vis nitrates, new regulations, it's a worrying times for all pig farmers," Caffrey added.

At the meeting, Bord Bia pig and poultry executive Shauna Jager provided an update on the market situation for pigmeat, while Teagasc pig specialist Michael McKeown went through the costs of producing a kilogramme of pigmeat.

Ted Massey, senior inspector at the nitrates and biodiversity division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, addressed the meeting on the nitrates derogation and the process of trying to retain the derogation; while IFA policy executive Sarah Hanley gave an overview on the activities of the Pig Committee.

Following those speakers there was a "good run of questions" from the floor, Caffrey said.

"It was a good open meeting and the floor was given over to farmers to ask them the questions and to get what they could from it," he added.

However, the answers farmers could get were limited because, he claimed, pigmeat processors were invited to send representatives but did not do so.

"There are no answers on the horizon because we sent a request for someone from the processors to attend. No one from the processing end of it attended," he said.

According to the IFA pig chair, the meeting heard that there was no possibility at present of pig farmers protecting their margins by cutting productions costs.

"Michael McKeown put that to bed... [The] total costs of producing pigmeat are running around 185c/kg," Caffrey said.

He said that he hopes that there will not be any need for further meetings of this type.

He said: "I hope it's a once off because it would mean we're getting some of our prices back, but sure if we don't get the prices back we have to see where we go from here."

Caffrey wouldn't be drawn on whether the IFA will consider protest action on the pig price situation, saying: "I don't know yet, there's no point in me saying that.

"It would go to a pig committee meeting. We have to see, with costs and everything, where the markets are going. We'll have a pig committee meeting then and we'll take it from there," he added.