‘Dire’ situation as welfare cull reaches at least 30,000 pigs

The backlog of pigs on farm is showing ‘no real sign of respite’ and some producers exhausted contingency plans weeks ago, NPA chief executive Zoe Davies has said.

So far 30,000 pigs are known to have been culled on farm and will not enter the food chain due to labour shortages at pork plants – though the NPA says the true figure is likely to be higher.

Primary producers urgently need more support from the government and across the supply chain, as they are bearing the brunt of a crisis that has its roots in another part of the supply, NPA added in a statement.

Dr Davies told the Food Security Summit on Tuesday (14^th December) that the pork supply chain is “broken”.

She said: “It’s time the pain was felt by all, and all actors within the supply chain take some responsibility or there will be no independent pig farmers left in this country. Already only 40% of the pork eaten in the UK is produced here – let’s not erode that any further.”

As well as the crisis facing pig producers, the seasonal worker shortage has threatened to leave fruit and veg being unpicked in fields, while a general shortage of lorry drivers is having an impact across the supply chain.

Domestic supply chain issues are resulting in limited product choices on supermarket shelves, as well as a rise in imports. Meanwhile record inflationary pressures have hit energy, feed and fertiliser prices. For the pig sector this has led to the highest production costs on record – leaving many producers facing huge losses.