The gap between the prices paid to pig farmers in Northern Ireland compared to those in Great Britain widened again this week and Ulster Farmers’ Union deputy president Ivor Ferguson has said that he continues to be baffled by this completely unjust price differential.
UFU deputy president Ivor Ferguson said; “The pig meat produced here in Northern Ireland still has to meet the same strict Red Tractor standards as across the water. We are producing a top quality product and we should be paid accordingly, especially as our counterparts in GB, who are producing to the same specification, are being rewarded for their efforts. It is astonishing that processors here think they can justify this completely unfair price differential.
“A year ago the price differential stood at some 7p to 8p/kg below the price paid in GB, which was bad enough but this gap has progressively gotten worse. Local pig producers are now being paid up to 15p/kg below the average price paid to their colleagues across the water and this is totally unacceptable. To add insult to injury, pig producers in GB also have the advantage of their feed costs being £20 to £25 per tonne less than the feed price paid in Northern Ireland.
“We can see absolutely no justification for this, pig farmers in Northern Ireland are producing pigs to the same high standards as across the water and we should be paid a fair price in return.”
The UFU continues to monitor the situation and intends to raise this with local pig processors as a matter of urgency.
