Prices: For the week ending 26th September, the average reported deadweight price paid for Grade E pigs in Ireland has held at €1.68/kg for the third consecutive week (excluding VAT). Producer prices have returned to the range of €1.68/kg-€1.72/kg across processors this week.
Current prices remain 12% lower than the same week last year, when prices averaged €1.90/kg. Across Europe, pig prices are showing signs of improvement. The EU average price for Grade E carcasses decreased to 1.56/kg (excluding VAT) and is €0.33/kg below the corresponding week in 2025 (€1.89/kg). Most EU member state’s prices experienced decreases, with Germany and Spain’s price falling by €0.05/kg and €0.02/kg respectively
Throughput: Slaughter activity remains robust. Combined throughputs for the first 39 weeks of 2026 stand at 2,614,998 head, which is just over 110,000 head higher than the same period in 2025. For the week ending 26th September, total slaughtering’s amounted to 70,698 head, including 2,138 sows and 11 boars.
Overall, there has been a 4.2% increase in fattener pig throughput compared with the same period last year, signalling strong supply despite softer price trends.
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