Research Concerning the Economic Efficiency in Pig Fattening in Farms of Various Sizes

Abstract

The paper aimed to analyze the economic efficiency in three farms dealing with pig fattening in the Southern Plain of Romania. Farm size was different from a farm to another as follows: Farm1-100 fatty pigs and 10.5 tons meat as live weight, Farm 2- 2,647 fatty pigs and 264.7 tons live weight and Farm 3- 9,460 fattened pigs and 1,040.6 tons meat production. Economic efficiency was comparatively analyzed based on the following indicators: pig stock, meat production, fattening gain, food consumption, income, cost, profit and profit rate at farm level and per series of fattened pigs as well as on unitary cost, income, profit per kg live weight and delivered pig and gross margin. Finally the economic size of each farm was estimated in ESU according to the EU classification. As a conclusion, all the three farms carried out profit but the farm F3, which was the largest farm, registered the highest efficiency: Lei 107.8 profit/ pig, Lei 238 gross margin/pig, Lei thousand 1,895.582 gross margin/farm/year. Therefore, the higher the income and profit per fatty pig, the higher economic efficiency. As a conclusion, farmers have to pay attention to farm size in order to increase economic efficiency.