The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, met with an Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) delegation led by president Tim Cullinan and the chair of the Pigs Committee Roy Gallie this week. Issues raised related to ongoing difficulties in the pig sector.
The association’s pig committee held a protest in Tallaght, Dublin on January 17, 2022, to highlight the current “dire circumstances” in the sector, which sees costs increasing and price to farmers falling.
Gallie pointed out that input costs have rocketed. These include the price of barley, wheat, soya protein, soya oil, minerals and vitamins. In Gallie’s view, pig feed is at “historic highs”. Protestors also drew attention to escalating secondary inputs, such as wages, insurance, electricity and transport.
Minister Cullinan has acknowledged the scale of the problem and the ensuing consequences for pig farmers. “A round table meeting of stakeholders is due to take place next week, chaired by Minister [of State Martin] Heydon. The department needs to come forward to this meeting next week with tangible measures to ease the crisis,” he declared.
Roy Gallie commented that based on Teagasc data, farmers are losing €37.84 per pig due to the price drop, combined with an unprecedented increase in feed prices. “They need an immediate solution,” he said.
NSL News.