It’s not looking bright for pig farmers this year as the market has suffered severe losses of €128 million for the period from September 2021 to the current period. This was believed to have been a topic of concern at a Teagasc webinar held on the finance-stricken industry earlier this week.
According to Teagasc pig advisor Gerard McCutcheon, they addressed the costs and losses experienced by pig farmers and additionally offered financial reassurance to farmers. He says that feed costs increased significantly from September 2021 up to the current €1.33/kg deadweight. Added to this it’s understood that the net price being paid for pigs has dropped since then and is now €1.43/kg deadweight.
McCutcheon highlighted that the margin over feed (MOF) is 10c/kg deadweight and says that the MOF had not been this bad since 1999 and that it is not sustainable or viable, if it continues over a long period of time.
At present an average 600-sow unit is losing €56,000/month, with an accumulative loss for January and February of €107,000, that’s according to Teagasc pig development officer Michael MKeown. He says that due to pressure on feed ingredients, it appears as though the composite feed price will increase in April.
LSL News.