As a result of African swine fever (ASF), many export channels are currently closed, meaning major suppliers such as Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are selling produce mostly within the EU.

This has led to a glut in supply – so much so, that the cost of production in Estonia is actually higher than market prices. While the market price in Europe is €1.60 per kilogram, production costs Estonian producers €1.80 to €1.90.

"We have welfare-oriented production and our pigs are raised on straw. We operate with more staff, work with straw and carry out various additional activities to ensure that welfare. So if things are difficult for large producers, then the smaller producers here, who have to carry out these activities with their own resources, are certainly in a difficult situation," Made-Britta Eensalu, head of Vasula Farms and a member of a pig farmers' association, told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

Representatives of both large and small producers appealed at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture on Tuesday for emergency support and state aid for pig farmers.

"We see it as needing to make production more efficient, but this certainly cannot be done without investment. The state has to contribute here, either through aid or some kind of measures," said Valmar Haava, a member of the management board at pig farmers Ühinenud Seafarmid.

Madis Pärtel, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said that there is scope for aid via the EU route.

"Under the Common Agricultural Policy, there is one measure for pig farmers that we can increase somewhat to compensate for possible losses in the sector. And from another perspective, we can write a letter to the European Commission and communicate with neighboring countries that have the same concern in order to obtain some relief for the situation, and we certainly plan to write a letter to the Commission together with the pig farming sector," Pärtel said.

However, the farmers noted that the aid from this would not start arriving until next year at the earliest, which may mean some businesses having to close.

"I am speaking more on behalf of small pig farmers. I think the moment of truth for many will come at the end of the year. If the market situation does not change, those of us who operate across the entire value chain have more room to maneuver. But I think we will certainly start hearing in late November and December about producers dropping out of the market if the price does not rise," said Priit Dreimann, a member of the management board of Maag Agro.

Dreimann said it would be enough even for the state to subsidize just the gap between production costs and the selling price, for as long as this anomaly persists. However, no such pledge was forthcoming from the ministry on Tuesday.

The farmers ERR spoke to stressed that the importance of pig farming does not end at the dinner table, as the sector has other by‑products.

"We could produce practically all of Saaremaa's current gas needs from pig farming waste. The strategic importance of pig farming lies not only in food production and food security, but also energy security and, from the perspective of crop farming, the importance of producing fertilizer," said Lauri Jasmin, environmental expert at the Estonian Biogas Association.

Some producers went bankrupt as a result of last year's ASF outbreak.

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