UK pig industry review announced as 200,000 animals stranded on farms
The government has announced an immediate review of fairness in the pig industry supply chain, and has promised to look into pig contracts, in response to a worsening crisis in the sector, as an estimated 200,000 pigs are backed up on farms and unable to be taken to slaughter.
Farming minister Victoria Prentis made the announcement following a summit with pig producers on Thursday to discuss ways to solve the continuing crisis in domestic pig production.
The National Pig Association (NPA) chair, Rob Mutimer, and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, Minette Batters, last month requested an urgent summit to address labour and supply-chain concerns in the pig industry, as well as financial difficulties faced by producers.
“The effects on pig farmers have been devastating, and it is clear that many contractual arrangements are simply unfair,” Prentis said.
Prentis said ministers want to engage with the pig industry on how fairness and transparency could be improved, with a consultation expected later in the year.
In addition, measures introduced by government in the autumn to support pig producers – including permitting foreign butchers to enter the UK on temporary visas, longer working hours at processing plants and a scheme allowing producers to store pig carcasses for several months before processing – have recently been extended until the end of March.
Pig producers are warning that the British pig industry is fighting for survival. They had called on government to hold a summit because they said the previously announced support measures had delivered “minimal benefit”.
“The situation is dire,” said Mutimer, ahead of the summit.
“Getting the backlog down by the summer will simply be too late for many pig farmers. This
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