HC Deb 25 May 2000 vol 350 cc1093-5
2. Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough)

If he will make a statement on profitability in the pig sector. [122401]

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Nick Brown)

Market prices for pigs continue to recover, having risen by 25 per cent. since the end of January. With the market price at around 95p per kilogram, most pig producers will be breaking even, at least. The measures that the Government have taken to help the sector have helped to bring about this outcome.

Mr. Leigh

Twenty-four thousand jobs have been lost in this sector. The problem with the pig industry has not been that it is inefficient—it is not—but is that it must abide by animal welfare standards that do not apply to its competitors. Does the Minister acknowledge that his restructuring grant may actually lead to more jobs being lost? How does he intend to use the grant, and to what purpose? Is not the real problem with the industry the fact that imports do not have to abide by these standards? What is he going to do about it? Will he be tougher? Can he imagine the French putting up with this sort of behaviour? We want a Minister who is less nice and acts more like a Frenchman.

Mr. Brown

Bonjour, Madam Speaker. I welcome the hon. Gentleman to these exchanges, to which you have been treated at just about every Agriculture questions for almost a year now. The answers to his questions are well known. The real problem in the sector is twofold—supply exceeds demand and the classic pig cycle has plummeted, and that recession has been prolonged. To help the industry through the recession, the Government have taken a range of actions with which most hon. Members will be familiar, because we have discussed them at great length.

The one measure that the hon. Gentleman urges on the Government—economic protectionism—would be illegal and would invite retaliation and a court case that would incur considerable costs for the British taxpayer. If the hon. Gentleman doubts that, I can tell him—as most hon. Members will have heard me say before—that the best advice available to the Government has been placed in the Library for all hon. Members to see. He advocates a measure that would not work and, worse than that, would do considerable harm to the industry. The constructive approach that the Government have taken, to work with the industry to devise measures to get it through the crisis, has been widely welcomed by the industry and, as the facts show, is having some success.

Mr. Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is good news that the price has risen and that what we should do next is reduce costs in the supply chain, add value to the British market and develop marketing in Europe? Those are not my words, but those of Mr. Mick Sloan from the British Pig Executive, reported in the Farmers Guardian this week. Those are the steps that are necessary, not the illegal activities promised by the Tories, which would ruin the industry.

Mr. Brown

There is no protectionist solution to the problem. The answer for the industry is to get closer to the marketplace. We have worked closely with the industry to get it to work together, rather than just as individual businesses, and to bring it closer to its real customers. I also welcome the Meat and Livestock Commission campaign which has just been launched to bring home to British consumers the real difference between the strong animal welfare measures that we have in place and competitors' products. The battle will be won in the supermarkets.

Mr. Michael Jack (Fylde)

Sadly, Winnie the pig has left Parliament square and the fount of all our knowledge and wisdom on the subject has gone. Before the pig went, a question was raised with me about research and development in the industry, and the fact that the Minister's package of help measures does not appear to include anything to assist further improvements in the way in which the British industry operates. Has he any positive proposals to put to the House on that matter today?

Mr. Brown

The industry operates efficiently and it has a good story to tell on meat and bonemeal and on animal welfare. The right hon. Gentleman is making a bid for my research and development programme. If the industry submits projects, they will be considered as other bids are considered and will take their place in the priorities. When the industry applied for marketing support, it received the overwhelming bulk of the support that was available. We are willing to consider bids from the industry across the range of the different projects that the Department sponsors.