The National Pig Association (NPA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) are calling for government to act on section 21 of the Agriculture Act that enables support to be provided to agricultural producers in England whose incomes are being, or are likely to be, adversely affected by the exceptional market conditions.

In a joint letter to Defra Secretary George Eustice MP, NPA chairman Rob Mutimer and NFU president Minette Batters thanked the Secretary, Farming Minister Victoria Prentis and Defra officials for the support they have given to the industry in recent months.

However, they stressed that the invasion of Ukraine had moved the sector “from a very challenging financial situation to a critical one from which we fear many will not recover.”

The letter asks that the UK government reconsider a previous request by the trade bodies for a financial support package to be made available to pig farmers at the earliest opportunity, similar to those offered by the devolved administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland and other European countries.

NPA reported that many members are now losing more than £50 per pig on average because of “ineffective pricing, penalties and rising input costs.” 

The trade body estimates that around £250 million was lost last year within the British pig sector due to the ongoing labour shortages in the processing sector. For many small family farms, there simply isn’t the financial headroom to absorb any additional shocks in the industry, the letter adds.

“The most severe impacts on incomes resulting from the adverse market conditions are not being felt by the processors, but by the farmers,” the letter says. 

“However, even though government has acknowledged that there are adverse market conditions affecting the sector, and that financial support is needed to address this, no direct support has yet been offered to farmers, despite the fact that their incomes are the most severely affected by this issue.”

The letter continues: “This position is becoming increasingly untenable as the support offered to processors to try to resolve the issue has failed to alleviate the adverse impacts on farm incomes resulting from the situation.”

It concludes: “We cannot overstate the urgency of the situation, as our sector is now more than ever, perilously close to collapse and we look forward to your timely response.”