§ 25. Mr. JackTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's latest assessment of the financial strength of the pig industry. [98862]
§ Ms QuinThe market price for pigs has been below the cost of production since May 1998. At its present level of 77 p/kg, pig producers are, on average, losing around £9 on every pig sold.
§ 26. Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he proposes to take to support the British pig industry. [98863]
§ Ms QuinIn discussions with the representatives of the British pig industry, we have developed an action programme aimed at helping pig producers through this very difficult period. This includes:
- (a) making available an extra £6 million for marketing and promotion from which the pig industry should benefit significantly;
- (b) promoting animal welfare and other standards of UK pigmeat.
- (c) writing to MPs and Local Authorities to emphasise importance of sourcing to British standards;
- (d) writing to Commissioner Fischler arguing the case for re-opening EU private storage aid scheme and restoring special refund on exports to Russia;
- (e) going back to next meeting of SEAC to consider whether current ban on use of MBM from pigs is still justified.
- (f) tackling misleading labelling. Revised guidelines on origin marking have gone out to public consultation;
- (g) better auditing of claims on welfare and other standards of imported products;
- (h) meeting individual retailers and caterers to insist they reaffirm their commitment last December in sourcing from stall and tether and MBM free production systems and on misleading labelling.