There was mixed news for the pig sector this week in Brussels.
It was positive to hear that European market prices have begun to recover after months in the doldrums.
The EU reported price is now e141 per 100 KG, the highest price since last September and slightly higher than this time last year.
However a
s pig producers know to their cost this has not been enough to offset the enormous feed cost rise during that period.
In this weeks EU Agriculture Council the state of the pig sector was discussed again by EU Farm Ministers.
The Polish and Irish Ministers led the debate in calling for further export refunds in the sector to sustain production. There was widespread support for this proposal and it was very disappointing that the UK Government questioned the effectiveness of export refunds.
No decision was taken but the UFU will continue to press for this outcome to help boost the sector.
On the currency front the weak US dollar is hindering some export markets outside the EU, but closer to home the value of the Euro continues to rise against sterling.
The Euro this week was worth almost 79 UK pence and this should be boosting our competitiveness in the UK and EU market place.
The value of the Euro continues to break records and it's now at it's highest ever value against sterling.
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