There was no change in Irish pig prices last Friday with farmers reporting quotes of €2.06 – €2.10 available from processors in ROI.
The average European price for a grade E carcass pig for week 1 was €2.09/kg which is 2.6% higher than prices for the same week last year according to the Commission, and it is back -1.1% on last month’s prices and .7% with the previous week’s average price.
Bord Bia had their annual Meat and Livestock Seminar last week in the Kilashee Hotel in Naas which was very well attended. Global pigmeat production is forecast to remain unchanged in 2024. Lower output in China is anticipated to offset increases in Brazil, Vietnam and the United States. Irish pig producers reacted similarly to their European counterparts by reducing their average holding size over the last 18 months. This impacted on output levels during 2023, with the volume of Irish pigmeat exports (excl. value-added pigmeat)20% lower than 2022 levels at 189,000 tonnes.
Irish pigmeat production is expected to gradually recover from the first quarter of 2024, reflecting some recovery in the pig breeding herd on the back of higher prices and some downward readjustment in production costs.The weekly throughput figures for week ending the 21st of Jan were 64,673 of which 1,966 were sows.
