Pig prices are unchanged this week at up to €1.60c/kg, helped by good home and export demand, including to the UK.

IFA pigs chair Roy Gallie said that the Government must ensure that the Northern Ireland protocol allows pigs from the Republic to continue going for slaughter in Northern Ireland, regardless of whether there is a Brexit trade deal.

Up to 12% of pigs produced in the Republic go to Karro in Cookstown each year.

Gallie is due to address an Oireachtas agricultural committee meeting on Thursday and will also stress how vital it is to keep Ireland free of African swine fever (ASF).

“For that purpose, we need an all-island bio-secure zone to be created,” he said.