Vol. 508 No. 2
86 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps, if any, he will take to alleviate the difficulties being experienced by pig farmers, particularly in the Border area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18461/99]
The difficulties experienced by pig farmers in general over the past year or so stemmed largely from EU and worldwide weakness in the sector.
A number of steps have already been taken to address this. Export refunds were substantially increased. An EU funded private storage scheme, which removed large volumes of pigmeat from the market, was also introduced as was a food aid package for Russia, which included 100,000 tonnes of pigmeat. All these measures have combined to strengthen the EU pigmeat market.
An indication of this is that Irish pigmeat prices have shown considerable recovery since the start of the year and the market should continue to strengthen. Forecasts are that pig slaughterings will decrease in the final quarter of 1999 and prices paid to pig producers, including those in the Border region, should improve further as supplies begin to tighten.
