HC Deb 04 February 1988 vol 126 cc1151-2
18. Mr. Jack

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the current state of the United Kingdom pig industry.

Mr. Donald Thompson

As a result of pressure from the United Kingdom and other member states, the pigmeat management committee has recently decided to reintroduce a scheme of aids for private storage and this should help to strengthen the market. Our pig producers are also concerned about the monetary compensatory amounts payable on imports of pigmeat. My commitment and that of my right hon. Friends is to see MCAs abolished in this sector. There are widely differing views within the EC on this issue and it will not be easy to achieve.

Mr. Jack

I thank my hon. Friend for his very full answer and his letters, which clearly show his understanding of the problems of Lancashire pig farmers. Will he look at two things? The first is the commutation of further payments to the Aujeszky's disease fund. Secondly, will he support the initiative taken by Back Benchers to write to supermarkets and butchery chains to encourage further consumption of home-produced pork?

Mr. Thompson

The Aujeszky's disease fund is committed on an annual and regular basis to the banks and it would be impossible to discontinue those payments until the overdraft has been paid off. I am very glad to hear of the initiative of my hon. Friend and his Back-Bench colleagues in writing to supermarkets and other places asking them to promote pork, and I shall do all I can to encourage that to happen.

Mrs. Margaret Ewing

Is the Minister aware that in the Grampian region, where the bulk of Scottish pig production is centred, many pig producers are facing bankruptcy? What immediate hope can he hold out to them of eliminating unfair competition from Denmark and Holland? Will he look at subsidised feedstuffs for the pig industry?

Mr. Thompson

The hon. Lady will know that we reintroduced private storage aid, not without a struggle in the Community. We are looking at the use of imported cereal substitutes on the continent to see how they affect the market.

Rev. Ian Paisley

Will the Minister remember the plight of pig farmers in Northern Ireland when he is giving consideration to what steps he will take to help the pig industry across the United Kingdom, and will he keep in mind the representations that have been made to him from Northern Ireland?

Mr. Thompson

Northern Ireland and Scotland are, of course, very important in the pig industry, and I shall give special consideration to those areas. In fact, I have already been in conversation with the Ministers responsible.