§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will publish a table in theOfficial Report to show for each month in 1998 the (a) profit and (b) loss in respect of (i) each weaner pig produced and (ii) each finished bacon pig from the Government Agricultural College Pig Unit or as much of such information as is readily available. [67779]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyThe Government College Pig Unit operates a birth to bacon system and the financial records are accurate only for finished bacon pigs. Financial records are not maintained for weaner pig production.
Monthly figures are very variable in a 100-sow unit because numbers sold in a month can vary markedly and meal deliveries can also distort the picture.
Quarterly figures give a clearer picture and are provided for gross margin/bacon pig and net margin/bacon pig.
Table to show profit/loss per bacon pig—1998 £ Quarter Gross margin1/pig Profit/loss/pig January-March 1998 8.57 -8.43 April-June 1998 16.34 -0.66 July-September 1998 -11.96 -28.96 October-December 1998 -13.19 -30.19 1 Gross margin is net output less variable costs e.g. feed, vet bill, replacement costs. Assumed fixed costs of £17 per pig are used to calculate profit/loss per pig. This is typical of pig units. Fixed costs for the college herd are difficult to isolate from teaching costs. Fixed costs include labour, buildings, water, electricity etc.
For 1998 overall, the College Pig Unit recorded a gross margin of -£1.01 and a loss of £18.01 per pig.