Pigmeat Committee Chairman Pat O’ Flaherty has insisted pig compound feed millers must reduce feed prices immediately.He said: “Teagasc compiles monthly compound and home milled feed prices and, in light of the most recent figures released, it is clear that feed prices must immediately drop to address the price differential between the two figures”.“As feed makes up over 70 per cent of the cost of producing a pig, farmers are very sensitive to movements in feed prices. According to the Teagasc figures, a tonne of compound feed could be milled (ex-port) for 222/tonne in September, while farmers are being forced to pay up to 270/tonne for an equivalent compound ration. Even when transport costs are factored in, the gap is enormous and completely unjustified.

　　爱尔兰农场主协会国家养猪与猪肉委员会主席Pat O’ Flaherty坚称，养猪混合饲料磨坊主应立即降低饲料价格。他说：“爱尔兰农业与食品发展部(Teagasc)收录了混合饲料价格与家磨饲料价格数据，根据最近公开的数字显示，为了使两者的价格差距缩小，混合饲料价格应立即降低。由于饲料在养猪成本中所占比例超过70%，农场主们对饲料价格的变幻十分敏感。根据爱尔兰农业与食品发展部数据，9月研磨一公吨用于出口的混合饲料需要222欧元，而农场主为了满意一定的混合比例，被迫最高支付270欧元/公吨。尽管里面还蕴藏了运输成本，但是生产饲料成本与饲料价格的差距太大，一点也不平等。”