Organic Pig Fattening Pays Off for Large Farms
Photo: Bio Suisse
Agroscope analysed the economic situation of organic fattening-pig production in Switzerland. The study shows that six of the ten farms examined – particularly the larger ones – can produce profitably.
Pork is still the most popular meat in Switzerland, with around 20 kg consumed per person in 2023. The organic share of the retail market lies in the region of 3.5%, which is equivalent to just under 47,000 organic fattening pigs sold per year.
Profitability of the Swiss organic meat market
As part of the ‘BioPerform’ project co-funded by Bio Suisse, Agroscope analysed the profitability of the organic meat market in Switzerland, focusing on the impact of the economic situation on the farm enterprise as well as the technical efficiency and production costs of organic meat production. The present study highights the revenue and cost structures for the farm enterprise ‘fattening-pig production’. Working hours and productivity as well as further key production engineering figures for organic fattening-pig production were also compiled or calculated.
Direct costs are the most important factor for profitable pig fattening
The analysis shows clearly the degree to which direct costs influence the profitability of pig fattening. Expenditure on livestock purchase and feed costs have a major impact on the economic success of the farm enterprise. Efficient, cost-effective feeding paves the way to economic success.
Larger pig-fattening farms produce more efficiently
The larger a pig-fattening farm, the more labour-efficient it is. Major differences in terms of labour efficiency and profitability can be seen at individual-farm level. A comparison with the PEP farms shows that the production costs on the organic farms are almost twice as high, due in particular to the significantly higher costs for feeding and livestock purchase. These costs are, however, recouped with a better price which in 2022-23 stood at CHF 7.77/kg carcass weight, compared to CHF 3.79/kg for quality-label pork production according to IP-Suisse standards.
Despite the higher production costs, six of the ten organic farms can produce pork cost-effectively thanks to the higher price for organic meat. There are substantial differences in profitability at the level of the individual farms, with bigger farms being more cost-efficient.
Conclusions
- With under 5% of the market share, organically reared pork plays a subordinate role; however, its low market volume makes it more likely to respond all the more sensitively to significant changes in supply and demand.
- The cost-efficiency of pig fattening is influenced by direct costs. Expenditure for livestock purchase and feed costs decisively influence economic success.
- Although organic farms have higher production costs than conventional farms, they can still remain economically competitive thanks to higher gross margins and better remuneration of labour.
- Although major differences exist between individual farms, the efficiency of organic pork production tends to increase along with farm size.
Bibliographical reference
Wie wirtschaftlich ist die Bio-Schweinemast?.
