Its back to normality after two interrupted weeks over the Christmas period. Forward planning by both pig farmers and factories saw an increased kill in the run up to the end of December and there are no reports of any significant build up of factory fit stock on farms.
On the pig price, it remained stable for the past few weeks and looks likely to remain so. While other European countries saw good increases in December, rising above €2/kg, these record prices have since fallen back to €1.95c/kg. Quotes in Ireland never saw these peaks, and should not expect to see any negative movement in January according to IFA Pig Chairman Tom Hogan. The 2020 outlook remains positive, with Teagasc predicting an average pig price in 2020 of €2.15c/kg. This good price is entirely dependent on Ireland remaining free from ASF. Ear to the Ground are covering the deadly pig disease on RTE, Thursday 7pm.
