§ Mr. Geoffrey Johnson Smithasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has for the national pig herd in 1978; and how this compares with the actual numbers in each of the previous five years.
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§ Mr. BishopIt is not customary to publish details of the Ministry's forecasts. The provisional results of the latest census conducted in England and Wales in September indicate that the decline in the breeding herd is continuing.
Total numbers of pigs in the breeding herd in the United Kingdom at the June censuses in recent years were:
'000 head 1973 1,015 1974 889 1975 814 1976 884 1977 820