There was no announced change to Irish pig prices on Friday last with farmers receiving quotes of €1.88c/kg up to €1.94 or €1.92 – €1.96/kg. Some farmers selling pigs to the north for slaughter are receiving quotes of €2.00/kg and some farmers in ROI are receiving similar quotes from some processing plants in ROI.
The 4c increase that farmers received last week was welcome but much more needs to be delivered to farmers. Commodity feed prices have come back significantly from their peak in May which is positive but farmers buying from their feed mill will not receive benefit of this as quickly as it is needed. It must also be noted that markets are currently extremely volatile.
The Chinese market has improved significantly with prices for live pigs quoting as 23.92RMB which would be circa €4.54/kg at a 77% kill out.
The long-term market for refrigerated containers has seen its first easing in rates for routes between Northern Europe and the Far East. According to International Shipping News, this would be the first sign of some easing of prices this year. The dip amounts to US $200 in average rates for a long-term contract on a 40’ reefer, which still puts the cost at US $4,300 at the end of the second quarter 2022. Shipment costs from Europe to Asia are down 16% YOY.
This still amounts to double the cost compared to the same period in 2019.
