There was no announced change to Irish pig prices this week with farmers receiving quotes of €1.90c/kg up to €1.94 or €1.92 – €1.96/kg with some farmers selling pigs to the north for slaughter receiving quotes of €2.00/kg. Farmers in ROI are receiving similar quotes from ROI plants.
Teagasc forecast that the average size farm is forecast to lose €360,000 for the 2022 12-month period. The increase in pig price in recent weeks is certainly movement in the right direction but much more is needed for farmers to even reach breakeven not to mention return to profitability. Farmers are still losing circa €25-30 per pig sold which remains completely unsustainable. While grain prices are significantly down from the highs we saw in May, markets remain extremely volatile. Individual farmers feed cost on a c/kg basis will vary at present depending on whether you purchase feed from a mill, or indeed are home milling and how you have bought forward. Teagasc estimate that feed costs are circa. €1.69/kg.
There were two new cases of ASF on farms in Germany detected in the past week, the cause of which is unknown.
The first in Lower Saxony, which was previously free from ASF the disease has been confirmed on a farm with 280 pigs and the second 1500 piglets in Emsland. Farms that were in contact with the affected farm are being checked and there is a possibility of further cases. Lower Saxony is a region with very strong pig production and in the 10km buffer zone there are 296 farms with around 195,000 pigs. The case is around 15 km from the Dutch border.
The other case has been found in the eastern state of Brandenburg where the disease has been found before. The farm is located in Uckermark and should have kept around 1300 fatteners. Also in Saxony, the spread of the disease among wild boars is increasingly worrying the authorities.
