Prices: For the week ending 17th October, the average reported deadweight price paid for Grade E pigs in Ireland currently sits at €1.67/kg (excluding VAT). Prices are static and have fluctuated by €0.01/kg in the past 3 months. Producer prices have returned to the range of €1.68/kg-€1.72/kg across processors this week.
Current prices remain 10% lower than the same week last year, when prices averaged €1.86/kg. Across Europe, pig prices are coming under downward pressure. The EU average price for Grade E carcasses decreased to 1.51/kg (excluding VAT) and is €0.24/kg below the corresponding week in 2025 (€1.75/kg). Many EU member state’s prices experienced decreases, with Germany and Austria’s price falling by €0.04/kg and €0.03/kg respectively.
Throughput: Slaughter activity remains robust. Combined throughputs for the first 42 weeks of 2026 are just over 2,800,000 head, which is 113,000 head higher than the same period in 2025. For the week ending 17th October, total slaughtering’s amounted to 58,474 head, including 1,698 sows and 5 boars.
Overall, there has been a 4 % increase in fattener pig throughput compared with the same period last year, signalling strong supply despite softer price trends.
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