Crisis times for British pig industry

The report suggests that the crisis is more serious than foot-and-mouth disease. Pig farmers recovered from foot-and-mouth because there was still a living to be made in rearing pigs, but this is now changing.

Price Rises
Overheads associated with pig production have all sky-rocketed, including animal feed which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the bills. Raising fuel prices and the collapse of the Australian harvest and the growth of biofuel crops have also played their parts.

Last summer, the average retail price of pork in the major chains was £4.86 per kilo. Today, it is £5.90 per kilo - more than £1 extra. The retail industry spin is that these price rises are all down to global forces.

Imports
British supermarkets are now being stocked with imported pork products where inferior welfare standards apply. At present, most foreign animals are raised in conditions which would be illegal in the UK.