The English Pig Industry, First Report Of Session 2008-09
This survey into the housing, feeding, and husbandry practices on pig farms in the United Kingdom shows that more than one-quarter of British sows are kept outdoors and 35% no longer routinely clip the teeth or dock the tails of piglets.
Industry Background:
- The British pig industry consists of about 470,000 breeding sows producing just over nine million pigs per year. The UK’s breeding pigs are distributed among England (82%), Scotland (9%), and Wales (<1%). About 92% of pigs are kept on 1,400 large, commercial farms and the remainder on 10,000 small farms.
- Bacon and ham consumption in the UK has been between 400,000-500,000 tonnes per year over the last 10 years, but consumption of fresh pork and other processed pig meat has increased since 2001, from 700,000 to 900,000 tonnes. However, the size of the UK pig herd decreased by 40% from 1997-2007 and then stabilized around 2006-2007. The increase in demand has been met by supply from Denmark and the Netherlands.
Key Factors Affecting the Industry over the last Decade:
- Pig farm incomes have fluctuated over the last decade due to movement in pig meat and feed prices.
- Deterioration in the pig industry has been attributed to:
- Global slump pig meat prices in 1998 created a market where even the most efficient UK producers lost money.
- The 1999 ban on tethers and close-confinement stalls for breeding sows.
- Outbreaks of Classical Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001.
- Overcrowding of pigs in 2000/2001 led to outbreaks of Post Weaning Multisystemic Wasting disease, Porcine Dermatitis Nephropathy Syndrome, and Porcine circovirus type 2.
- Further outbreaks of diseases in 2007 leading to export restrictions.
- 2007 increases in fuel and feed prices.
Ongoing Industry Challenges:
- Continued competition and cheaper imports within the European Union.
- Ambiguous food labeling of pig meat products.
- Burdens on the producer by environmental regulations.
- Efficient use of all parts of a pig to ensure a decent price (carcass balance).
- Fragmented nature of supply chains.
- Industry preparedness for ongoing threat of exotic disease outbreaks.