PIG producers are finally bringing home the bacon.
After one of the toughest years on record for the Australian pork industry, local producers are finally benefiting from a resurgence in demand - with prices lifting by $1/kilogram.
A falling Australian dollar, Christmas demand and tight local supply have combined to push farmgate pork prices to record levels.
Over the past year, the industry has faced an exodus of farmers and a 20 per cent cut in local production.
However, the national indicators for baconers and porkers rose to $3.40/kg and $3.70/kg last week, according to Australian Pork Limited. This was up from $2.50/kg and $2.75/kg this time last year.
The low prices - which were well below the cost of production for many producers - were compounded by high feed-grain prices and record import levels.
At Ballarat this week, baconer prices rose to $3.96/kg and to $4.39/kg for porkers.
Victorian Farmers Federation pig group chairman Aegar Kingma, of Torrumbarry, Victoria, said pig prices were now profitable.
But it was too little too late for many producers who had already left the industry, he said.
Current prices of $3.50-3.80/kg were now $1/kg above last year's $2.50/kg returns.
"They're record prices, but they've been coupled with record grain prices, although they are easing now with new-season grain," Mr Kingma said.
"It's hard to say prices will stay at this level, hopefully they will and the industry will remain profitable."
Mr Kingma said the Australian industry's production had been slashed over the past year due to the flood of imports and tight margins for local producers.
"The community needs to understand that if you squeeze an industry long enough you'll get a large number of people leaving it, and with more imports, this will not always lead to a better deal for consumers, as we're seeing now," he said.
"If we want to continue with the high level of imports, and destabilising the production sector, it's not going to make things any cheaper for consumers."
Mr Kingma said predictions made in submissions to a Productivity Commission inquiry last year by the Australian pork industry were now coming to fruition.
"We said the high level of imports will see many farmers leave the industry and prices (for consumers) won't remain cheap," he said.
The flood of imports last year - up more than 40 per cent - resulted in the virtual end of the domestic processed meat pork sector. Australian producers now mainly supply the fresh meat market, Mr Kingma said.
Stanhope pork producer John Bourke said the latest price rise was a sign "the torture has ended".
"But we hope it's not a boom and bust cycle," Mr Bourke said.
