Pigmeat storage scheme aims to relieve market pressure

An EU scheme paying meat traders to take pork off the market and store it for up to 160 days opens on 4 January.

Designed to alleviate some of the market pressure caused by heavy supplies and exacerbated by the Russian import ban, the Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme is administered by the RPA.

EU pigmeat prices have been on a sharply downward trend for more than two years, with only a few brief rises during this period. They reached an average of just 89.7p/kg dw in the week ended 7 December.

This marks a 17% fall just since mid-September, making pigs worth close to half their value just over two years ago in September 2013.

See also: Pig farmers’ share of retail price plummets to11-year low

Prices are still in a very wide range within the EU 28, with Sweden frequently topping the price table at 130p/kg-plus.

Prices in the main pigmeat producing countries in the week ended 7 Dec stood at:

The PSA offers the option to store the meat for 90, 120 or 150 days (60 if going directly for export).

A minimum of 10 tonnes of boned product must be stored, or 15 tonnes of bone-in meat.

PSA is also available for some dairy products until the end of February 2016.