Great Britain

NPA urges consumers and retailers to back British pig farmers

Pork

National Pig Association (NPA) chief executive Lizzie Wilson has called on retailers and consumers to back British pig farmers, as the long-running crisis takes its toll on businesses across the country.

Posted on Sep 22 ,04:26

NPA urges consumers and retailers to back British pig farmers

Recent figures from AHDB showed pig producers lost, on average, an unsustainable £52/pig in the second quarter of this year, following losses of £59/pig in Q1. After seven successive quarters of negative margins, producers have lost, collectively, £600 million since the autumn of 2020, AHDB estimates.

The financial woes are continuing through this quarter, as rising pig prices have failed to keep pace with soaring feed and energy costs.

Unsurprisingly, Defra’s June Agricultural census showed a massive 17% reduction in the English pig breeding herd, which industry data suggests is mirrored on a UK-wide basis and is already being reflected in the number of young pigs coming into the supply chain.

Lizzie Wilson has warned that there could be a reduced choice of favourite British pork products over the Christmas festive period, unless things change rapidly. Shortages would leave the supply chain more reliant on EU imports, which are currently increasing in price on the back of shortages across Europe, to fill the gaps.

Reports from those involved in the marketing of pigs suggest demand for British pork, against the backdrop of the consumer price squeeze, is ‘sluggish’ at the moment, with EU imports still a cheaper option, despite the rising EU prices.

With more and more producers feeling the strain amid weekly reports of more businesses quitting the industry, the message from the NPA is that retailers and consumers can do their bit to save the British pig sector by sourcing and buying British wherever they can.

This could give some producers the lift some need to stay in business, and in the long-term benefit everyone - producers, processors, retailers and, above all, consumers, who will continue to have the choice of high quality, high welfare, environmentally-friendly Red Tractor-assured British pork.

 NEWSLETTER - Stay informed with the latest news!

Comments





Similar articles

INTERNATIONAL

Global beef exports are expected to grow in 2025

Brazil, the world's leading exporter, will see a 52% year-over-year increase in its daily beef ex...


Read more Read more
BRAZIL

Brazil: Chicken meat shipments close the semester with a 0.5 percent increase

In total, 2.6 million tons were exported, 0.5% higher than the figure recorded in the same period...


Read more Read more
USA

USMEF: Impasse with China weighs heavily on may exports of US red meat

In April and the first half of May, China’s total tariff rate on U.S. pork peaked at 172%, ...


Read more Read more
Websolutions by Angular Software and SpiderClass