Pork prices now highest in Europe, due to cheaper feeds and fewer pigs

In European Union countries, the domestic price of pork per kilogram is around 4 zl., while Polish farmers earn on average zl 4.8 per kilogram; a record price since 1997 when the price was 4.3 zl per kilogram. Pork prices were very low for 2-3 years, causing farmers to protest, while now it is the meat processing companies who are complaining of high production costs and lack of profits. After 1998, farmers gave up breeding pigs because the feed prices were very high and pork prices were low, with an excess of pork on the market. This year, the situation is different with an excess of cheap feeds and a lower number of pigs. The specialists are expecting a serious change on the pork market but this is likely to show only in the second half of next year. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 19) P.W.