Morrisons has blamed a ‘challenging economic climate’ for the decision to reduce the number of pig producers supplying its Woodheads abattoir, in Lincolnshire.
Morrisons is the only retailer to own abattoirs and, amid the general market downturn, it has recently given notice to a significant number of pig producers. These include some longstanding suppliers and at least one very large producer supplying a lot of pigs each week.
As well removing some producers altogether, there are also reports of it informing other producers that it will be cutting the numbers taken from them each week.
A spokesperson for the Myton Food Group said: “Due to the challenging economic climate, Woodheads (part of Myton Food Group) is consolidating its processing volumes and as a result has made the difficult decision to reduce the number of pig producers in its supply chain.
“We understand the impact this news has on individual farming businesses, and our goal is to handle these exits with as much clarity and fairness as possible.”
Difficult market
The move by Morrisons is the most obvious impact yet of the extremely difficult market conditions the UK pig sector is currently enduring. The pig price has been falling steadily since the autumn amid an imbalance of supply and demand, compounded by low EU pig prices, which have compounded the pressure.
As a result of the excess supply, driven by a combination of additional sows being put down last year and good autumn breeding and growing performance, versus stagnant demand, with the situation made worse by factory stoppages, processors have been ‘rolling’ pigs week after week, with numbers backing up on farms.
Commenting in the Tribune on Monday, a figure involved in marketing pigs said it is not proving easy to find a home for their pigs elsewhere when producers are given notice, which can typically be six months, depending on contract arrangements, with all processors currently trying to manage numbers.
With costs rising, he described the situation as ‘toxic’ and predicted that some farmers are on the brink of ‘calling it a day’, if the situation doesn’t improve.
A second person involved in the trade added: “There are still a lot of pigs on farm, which has not been helped by the bank holiday. There is some more consolidation coming from abattoirs, which may force some more independent farmers out of the industry.”
Contract deadline
All of this is happening with the mid-August deadline for all existing contracts to comply with the new the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations looming.
The FDO regulations became law in August 2025, requiring all new pig‑purchase contracts from that date onward to be in writing, signed, and to include clearly defined terms on pricing, duration, volumes, termination and dispute resolution.
A one-year transition period means that all contracts, regardless of when they were signed, must be compliant by August 13, 2026.