Pig farming losses amount to £6 a second

Losses in the troubled UK pig industry are now running at £6 a second.

The soaring costs of fuel and feed are taking their toll and farmers are calling on shops and shoppers to bite the bullet and pay them another 7p a pound, on average so they can survive the crisis.

Pig farmers are sending healthy breeding sows to ADVERTISEMENTslaughter in a desperate attempt to cut their losses.

A Defra survey running this month is expected to find the national herd at least 10 per cent down on a year ago and the same thing is happening in other countries.

It all means fewer young pigs are being reared for slaughter, worldwide, so supplies are going down and prices up. Even so, prices have not caught up with the rising costs.

The £6-a-second figure comes from the British Pig Executive (BPEX), a Government-industry body chaired by veteran Yorkshire farmer Stewart Houston.

It amounts to £3.5m a week, or roughly £18 a pig.