December 17, 2008

Irish pork processors to maintain prices after meat recall

Pork processors are set to sustain pork prices this week after the turmoil of the pork and bacon recall.

Pig farmers have supplied thousands of pigs to factories on the basis that prices paid in previous weeks would be maintained.

Farmers were paid in the range of GBP0.142 to GBP0.145 per kilogramme for pigs in the week before the dioxin contamination scare.

However, pig factories in Northern Ireland have indicated that prices would fall by as much as GBP20 (US$0.64) per kilogramme.

The huge cut would be a 17 percent lower than normal, which is more than enough to put suppliers out of business.

Rosderra, the largest pig slaughtering and processing operation in Ireland which handles 50 percent of the nation's pig production, will not change its position for any pig supplies this week.

According to Rosderra chief executive Jim Hanley, there will be no change in pig price as Rosderra’s pig pricing mechanism is based on market conditions.

Dawn Pork and Bacon head Vincent Rafter said it also made no change to price for pigs supplied this week.

These processing plants at Grannagh, County Waterford are estimated to account 20 percent of the nation's pig slaughtering.

Rafter said the plant was slaughtering to its capacity and would continue to do so until Christmas.

US$1 = GBP0.64 (Dec 17)