Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Farmers warn pork crisis as pig cull looms

Farmers warn pork crisis as pig cull looms

Pig farmers on Friday warned of a pork crisis unless the government urgently eased an acute shortage of abattoir workers and butchers that has left up to 150,000 pigs backed up on farms and facing a costly cull.

Brexit and the pandemic have combined this year to leave deep labour shortages across the British economy, with a dearth of drivers disrupting fuel and supermarket supplies.


In the food sector, a sudden exodus of eastern European workers after COVID-19 lockdowns eased has left many pig farmers fighting for survival, and on Friday they urged retailers not to turn to cheaper European Union pork.

The National Pig Association said the industry was hiking wages and trying to increase training and automation to help fix an industry that has always struggled for labour.

In the meantime, however, farmers face an acute shortage of butchers and slaughterers, leaving up to 150,000 pigs which should have already been slaughtered still on farms.

The threat of a cull of pigs has evoked memories of Britain's 2001 Foot and Mouth crisis, when some six million pigs, cattle and sheep were slaughtered, generating images of burning animal corpses piled high in the fields for months.

More recently farmers in the US had to abort baby pigs and kill other livestock when the pandemic upended the food sector's supply chains.

The UK association, which urged the government to ease immigration rules for six to nine months to tide the industry over, said talks with the government had reached an impasse.

"I'm fielding calls, day in day out, from farmers all over the country who are in a perilous position where they have just got far, far too many pigs on their farm," Rob Mutimer, chairman of the association and a farmer in Norfolk, told Reuters.

He said the industry had always known it would lose European workers after Britain voted to leave the EU but that the lifting of COVID-19 travel rules earlier this year prompted many, who had not been home for 18 months, to leave en masse.

"The whole food sector just cannot cope with such an enormous short term loss in labour," he said.

"Yes the industry needs to train English people, and it needs to become more automated, we know that, and it's happening, there's massive investment going into these facilities to reduce the dependence on foreign labour."

Mutimer said some factories were increasing wages by 15 per cent and looking to invest more in technology as they faced up to the fact that the industry had relied on cheap labour for too long. For now though, they need government support and retailers to keep buying.

Adding to the pressure, he said his farm's own food costs had gone up by 35 per cent in the last year.

"This is crucifying my finances because the food cost of feeding these extra pigs is horrendous, cash flow of not selling enough pigs is horrendous and on top of that pigs were in a position where they weren't making money anyway," he said.

More for you

Local duo buys Jennings Brewery, brewing to restart in Cockermouth

Local duo buys Jennings Brewery, brewing to restart in Cockermouth

Two local business owners and entrepreneurs have acquired the historic Jennings Brewery, located in Cockermouth, Cumbria, from Carlsberg Britvic for an undisclosed sum.

Kurt Canfield, CEO of specialist engineering business Delkia, and Rebecca Canfield, proprietor of wine and spirits company Wine and the Wood, took ownership of the brewery site with intention to resume brewing Jennings beer in Cockermouth, following the brewery’s closure in 2022.

Keep ReadingShow less
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses issue of rising retail crime

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Photo by OMAR HAVANA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Keir Starmer vows to tackle rising retail crime

The Labour government is getting rid of a "shoplifters’ charter" to take a grip on rising retail crime left behind by the Conservative party, prime minister Keir Starmer stated on Wednesday (5) in the Commons Chamber.

Starmer was answering a question raised by Labour MP Claire Hughes when he acknowledged that shoplifting is no more a "low level" crime.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Snacking desire' under attack

Major consumer shift expected in snacking

iStock image

Brands urged to innovate as weight loss meds to impact 'snacking desire'

Customer habits of snacking and alcohol consumption are expected to see a major shift in the coming years with growing evidence that weight loss medication users show little interest in snacking, consuming alcohol, or even eating between meals, a recent report has stated.

This was one of the key messages from ‘The 2025 Show’, a virtual event hosted by MMR Research, where top industry voices unpacked what’s coming next for brands and product innovation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gander has been nominated for The Earthshot Prize 2025, a leading global environmental award.

Gander- leading global environmental award

Gander

Gander nominated for leading global environmental award

Gander has announced its nomination for The Earthshot Prize 2025, an accolade that celebrates groundbreaking solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges.

Nominated by BVRio, this marks Gander's third opportunity to contend for the prestigious prize, reaffirming its role as a global leader in waste reduction and sustainability.

Keep ReadingShow less
Diageo CEO sees 'big opportunity' in alcohol-free drinks

Diageo portfolio

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Diageo sees 'big opportunity' in no, low-alcohol

Diageo believes the no- and low-alcohol category is a “big opportunity for the industry” and for the company, its CEO has said.

Speaking at a press briefing for Diageo’s financial results for the first half of fiscal 2025 at its London headquarters, CEO Debra Crew voiced her optimism for the no-and-low segment and noted that the group’s non-alcoholic portfolio is up by approximately 56 per cent.

Keep ReadingShow less