Commodity watch by policy officer, David McClure.
Pig producers in Northern Ireland (NI) have been enduring a perfect storm during 2021. This has been multi factorial in its cause, with many of our members enduring economic hardship as a result. Whilst the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) had supported the industry by facilitating support schemes for some of the losses incurred due to coronavirus, pig producers continue to experience a huge reduction in income.
The current market price for prime pigs is at a depressed level. Whilst coronavirus contributed to the initial reduction in 2020, the presence of African Swine Fever in Europe and its movement into Germany undoubtedly furthered this downward pressure on prices. The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) pork and bacon committee have been liaising with DAERA officials around the initial price depression. Cull sows continue to be of very little value, and the main focus of our members is to ensure that there is an outlet for these animals, which two years ago would have been a valuable income stream to the NI producer.
Local processing capacity has been reduced in recent months, with labour availability being cited as the main reason. Backlogs of pigs on farms resulted in many of our members coming under housing pressure as the problem continued. UFU president Victor Chestnutt met directly with Priti Patel and raised this issue. Whilst a temporary visa was subsequently arranged, processors remain challenged by labour availability and the backlog issue for farmers continues to be monitored by UFU on a regular basis.
The pork and bacon committee have been engaging with NI based processors. Cranswick were subsequently able to facilitate additional kill capacity at weekends to alleviate backlog pressures. These kills came at a cost, again borne by the farmer. Karro also gave farmers the option of killing additional pigs, but at a reduced price. Thankfully these options ensured that the on-farm slaughtering of pigs has been avoided so far, something which cannot be said for our counterparts in England. The UFU have requested for further meetings with processors to be arranged in the coming weeks. Despite current volume challenges, noises of a strong commitment to the NI pig industry remain from processors.
A period of difficulty has been furthered when the soaring price of feed is considered. Current costs of straights mean that producers are seeing increases in feed diets beyond that ever seen.
There is real concern that negative margins cannot be sustained by the industry into 2022. The financial pain currently being felt by our members, combined with concerns at the inability to market pigs at the ideal time, is bringing huge stress upon our members.
Whilst the outlook may be challenging, the UFU pork and bacon committee continue to work diligently with the best interests of the industry at heart.
