§ Mr. Freudasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the current number of young sows in the United Kingdom pig breeding herd, together with comparable figures for each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. Bishop:The most recent available figures of young sows in the United Kingdom pig breeding herd are those collected for the 1974 December agricultural census. The provisional results of that census and figures for the preceding nine years are set out below:
Gilts in the UK Pig Breeding Herd Year December Census '000 Head 1965 100 1966 111 1967 122 1968 129 1969 130 1970 142 1971 106 1972 138 1973 135 1974 (provisional)85
§ Mr. Freudasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the 102W current trends in the size of the United Kingdom pig breeding herd; and what are the consequences for pig meat production in the next 12 months.
§ Mr. Bishop:Between June 1973 and June 1974 the size of the United Kingdom pig breeding herd declined by about 12 per cent, to 897,000 head. In the six months to December 1974 there was a further reduction of about 9 per cent, to a total of about 819,000 head, which may be expected to result in a corresponding decrease in the volume of home production of pigmeat in 1975 as compared with 1974. But the prospects for pig producers are now favourable and we hope that this will be reflected in a recovery in the breeding herd.