Vol. 505 No. 3
107 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the recent serious drop in pig prices; the action he will take to prevent recurrence of the collapse of the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13748/99]
In January 1999 Irish pigmeat prices were £73.63/100kgs and since then, they have increased to £76.46/100kgs. This represents an increase of about 4 per cent, and I am hopeful that this upward trend will continue. Nothwithstanding that, it is true that the pigmeat sector at EU level and third countries has been going through a very difficult period since the middle of last year. This is due essentially to the fact that the market is heavily oversupplied at present.
I have taken a range of actions aimed at alleviating the difficulties in the pigmeat sector. I secured increases in export refunds on four occasions in 1998, and I secured a further increase in February of this year. I also secured agreement from the EU Commission for the introduction of an aids to private storage scheme, under which EU funding is provided for the storage of pigmeat for a maximum period of six months.
The Russian food aid programme, which involves the supply of 100,000 tonnes of pigmeat to Russia, will have a positive effect on the EU market when concluded. To date 22,000 tonnes have been exported to Russia and arrangements are currently being finalised for the supply of a further 40,000 tonnes.
To encourage the consumption of bacon on the home market, An Bord Bia launched the quality assured bacon promotional campaign earlier this year, which has helped sales and improved the market.
The latest EU Commission forecast for the pig industry is that pig slaughterings will start to decrease later this year, and this should help to drive up pigmeat prices given the cutback on supplies.
I along with a number of my colleagues in the Agriculture Council have last week requested the Commission to take action both in terms of market support measures and other measures in order to alleviate the situation. I intend to maintain pressure at EU level for appropriate action.
