Pig Market Update 24th April

There was a 4c/kg increase in the pig price on Friday last paid to Irish producers. This is a clear indicator that demand for pigmeat is still rising as warmer weather extends across the Europe. Farmers are reporting quotes of at least €2.20 - €2.28 available from processors in ROI, with some reporting up to €2.30/kg.

The average European price for a grade E carcass pig for week 15 was €2.19/kg (Excluding vat), which is still behind by -7.6% on prices for the same week last year according to the Commission but is up 1% on last month's average price.

The weekly throughput for week ending the 21^st of April was 61,712 of which 1,780 were sows.

Wheat prices have hit the highest future prices since January with prices for September '24 circa €223/tonne. The European Union's crop monitoring service, MARS, raised its forecast for cereal yields on Monday, with recent favourable weather benefiting crops. Estimates for the average EU-27 soft wheat yield in 2024 were raised to 5.93 t/ha, up from initial forecasts of 5.91 t/ha.