April 22, 2010

Australian pork sector seeks for more grains

The Australian Pork Co-operative Research Centre is trying to get more farmers growing grains for pigs.

In the next 12 months, the centre will set up supply chains across Australia, to help give better prices to farmers who grow feed grains for intensive livestock industries.

Commercialisation manager Rob Wilson said that, while grains sold as animal food do not usually attract premium prices; that could change.

Meanwhile, pig production in Australia is expected to increase from the present 329,000 tonnes to 338,000 tonnes by 2014-15, according to James Fell in Australian Commodities report for March 2010 from ABARE.

The weighted average Australian sale-yard price of pigs is forecast to be 317 cents a kilogramme in 2010-11. While this represents a decline of 1% from the average price achieved in the previous year, this forecast remains around 33% higher in real terms than the average price over the five years to 2008-09.