While Irish pig factories are holding fast on official quotes of between €1.74c/kg and 1.76c/kg for this week, similar to the previous number of weeks, there is defiantly a shift back to the sellers holding the balance of power. There has been a noticeable lift in pig prices across the EU in recent days, with the indicative German pig price increasing by 10c/kg over the past 10 days.
Number available of factory ready pigs are in tight supply, not just in Ireland but across the EU. IFA Pigs Chairman Tom Hogan said that all pig processor must return the 4c/kg price reduction taken off farmers in July. “If the Irish factories want to follow the EU markets, as they have done when the market slipped in recent weeks, they must also follow the market back up. Farmers should not be taking less than €1.80c/kg for their pigs with the current EU market and world demand for pork as is”.
