'Completely unjustified' drop in pig prices slammed
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) pig chair, Michael Caffrey has strongly criticised the announcement of a further 10c/kg drop in pig prices.
The pig chair described the drops in price as "completely unjustified".
According to the IFA, there has been no increase in sow herd numbers, and there is no oversupply in the market.
Caffrey said: "This is the second week in a row that factories have imposed a 10c cut. That’s 20c/kg down in just two weeks at a time when pig supplies remain tight both in Ireland and across Europe.
"Factories are fully aware of the scarcity that exists. These cuts are not based on market realities."
"Yes, there have been drops in prices in other EU member states, but none on the scale of the hit here," Caffrey added.
The IFA pig chair believes that the "unprecedented" cuts have "completely undermined farmer confidence in the sector", especially during the summer months.
He said: "We are expected to invest in higher welfare standards, environmental improvements, and greater regulatory compliance, and we want to deliver on all these asks. But to do that, we need to be heading towards €3/kg, not facing cut after cut as we saw this week
"The fact that every processor moved at the same time should also prompt some investigation."
"Factories need to reverse these cuts immediately. We have sought urgent meetings with processors to put the maximum pressure on them. We are also working on setting up urgent meetings with retailers. Supply is tight, and they need pigs – these price drops must stop if we want a viable pig sector into the future,"Caffrey added.
Separately, this week (July 2025) the IFA said it believes that the emotional distress of farmers “often goes unspoken and untreated”, and it called for action on mental health.
According to IFA deputy president Alice Doyle, a farmer struggling with stress, anxiety, or depression is “more at risk of making unsafe decisions, more likely to withdraw socially, and less likely to engage with services that could help improve their farm and their life”.
She told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food on Wednesday, July 9 that initiatives to raise awareness, train agricultural advisers in mental health literacy, and provide better access to rural services are “extremely important”.
