§ Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement detailing the present profitability of pig production in the United Kingdom, analysing the trend in breeding stock numbers and indicating what immediate and short-term measures he proposes to take in the interests of the pig industry.
§ Mr PeartInformation on the profitability of pig production is not available in the form requested. Short-term assessments can in any event be misleading. It is, however, clear that increased feed costs combined with the reduction in pig prices since before Christmas have substantially eroded pig producers' margins. The results of the December livestock inquiry showed a decline since September in the United Kingdom pig breeding herd. I am considering urgently the position of the pig industry and have already had discussion with the farmers' unions.