§ 24. Mr. Lathamasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the current state of the pig industry; and whether prices have improved for producers since the recent farm price settlement.
§ Mr. MacGregorI am very much aware of concern about the poor returns which the pig industry has received in recent months. That is why the Government have successfully pressed the European Commission to improve aids to private storage, to increase export refunds on fresh and frozen pigmeat and to provide special aid of about £6 million for the improvement of pigmeat processing plants in the United Kingdom.
We have also agreed to bear the cost of the veterinary charges incurred in meat inspection in export slaughter-houses after 1 June.
It is helpful that the recent levels of the average all pigs price have been above those in April this year.
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§ 25. Mr. Moateasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent representations he has received about the cost of feedstuffs for the pig industry.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe President of the National Farmers Union has emphasised that the cost of feedingstuffs has had a considerable impact on the financial situation of pig producers.