DEAR SIR: Thank you for the detailed report on the immediate crisis in the pig industry, which was covered in last week’s edition.

The threat of the extinction of our industry cannot be overestimated.

In my letter to you which was published in the 5 February edition, I highlighted how the cost of production was at €1.85/kg and our pig price was at €1.40/kg, meaning each pig was costing farmers at least €37.

The war in Ukraine has catapulted feed costs to unprecedented levels, with breakeven now pushed over €2.30/kg.

Now, here we are in a worse position than we were four months ago, with pigs currently making a loss in excess of €55 per animal that leaves the farm. Pig farms are haemorrhaging money.

I recently issued an online survey to pig farmers, of which over 60 responded. The results were startling. Over 50% of the respondents said that given the current situation, they have between one and two months left before they completely run out of money.

What catastrophic animal welfare crisis is upon us when farmers cannot access any feed to give to their animals? Does the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine not have a moral duty to prevent this from happening?

Eighty percent of farmers said that they have cut back production.

Will we see a shortage of Irish pork and bacon on our supermarket shelves? Despite the continuous protests by the IFA and subsequent promises made by processors, the targeted price increase of €2/kg by 1 June has now failed to materialise.

We as farmers are rearing a pig for six months, giving it a high standard of care, to ensure that the consumer has healthy, safe and nutritious pork, yet we are only receiving 12% of the value of that pig.

Our value chain is very much broken. But, the question is, will the Government, the processors and the retailers stand aside and allow Irish pork and bacon to become a thing of the past, or are they going to come out and help us survive?