NFU Scotland has welcomed the announcement that pig producers affected by the temporary closure of the abattoir at Brechin last year, and the subsequent suspension of its China export licence, will receive a final tranche of financial support.
However, it has stressed that the wider Scottish pig sector remains on the brink of collapse and that some retailers need to do more to support pig producers.
The Pig Producers Hardship Support Scheme launched in August 2021 provided targeted support of £715,000 to eligible pig producers who had supplied the Quality Pig Processors (QPP) plant at Brechin for the Covid-related price reductions they suffered.
It was extended in January 2022 by a further £680,000 and an additional £410,000 of support will now be made available, bringing the scheme total to just over £1.8 million. Scottish pig producers who didn’t supply Brechin are not eligible for the hardship scheme.
NFU Scotland’s pigs working group chair, Jamie Wyllie (picture with Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon) said: “The Scottish sector is on the brink of losing the critical mass it needs and it will not take many more losses for some producers to give up for good.
“For those supplying Brechin, this Scottish Government support has recognised the crisis and I would encourage all eligible producers to apply when the scheme opens shortly. However, the funding must be judged against the scale of the losses that all Scottish pig producers, not just those supplying Brechin, are facing – something I discussed in detail with Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon on farm recently.
“This fund will not solve the crisis. Solutions are needed now to turn the sector around and address the problems within the supply chain to ensure producers are getting a fair return from the market for their long-term security.
“The Standard Pig Price has risen sharply to 167p per kg last week, but the reality is that, if pig producers are to stop haemorrhaging money, an SPP more than 200p per kg is needed if soaring costs of feed, labour, fuel, haulage and energy are to be covered.
“I estimate that current cost of production is around 204p per kg, meaning that the SPP must break 200p per kilo soon just to allow producers to start breaking even after recording crippling losses for many months.
“Feed prices alone have increased by 60% since February 2021, with more than one third of that being directly linked to the dreadful situation that is occurring in Ukraine. With almost 70 per cent of the cost to produce a pig being feed, this unforeseen increase in feed cost has had a devastating affect for the pig farmer.
“We know that, across the UK, pig producers are coming out of production for good or mothballing their operations as they cannot sustain the level of losses they are currently experiencing and have been for more than a year.
“We need retailers and processors to understand this and support their suppliers. Pig farmers need a bigger share of the final price, and we need an increase to what we are paid now or there won’t be a British industry left. NFU Scotland has met several major retailers in recent weeks, where we stressed the unequivocable need for supermarkets to support Scottish and British pigmeat.”