NPA chairman Richard Lister rammed home the message about not feeding waste to pigs as the Jeremy Vine Show focused on African swine fever (ASF) yesterday.
The popular Radio 2 show looked at the deteriorating situation in China and the implications for the global pig industry, including the UK.
Pig World editor Alistair Driver was asked to give an overview of what is happening in China, including projections that up to one-third of China’s 200 million-strong pig herd could be lost to the disease, prompting a surge in Chinese export volumes.
Mr Lister was then asked how the situation was affecting UK producers.
“There will be some switching into poultry, but there will be significant demand for pigmeat, which as a UK pig farmer, I hope is passed through to us as producers,” he said.
But he added that that so far UK producers, even after six months of very low prices, were yet to see any benefit of the China effect, even though prices were soaring virtually everywhere else in the world.
While the long-term impact on retail prices remains uncertain, he predicted consumers would be prepared to pay more if prices do rise. “A bacon sandwich is what we all dream about,” he said to murmurs of agreement from Mr Vine.
You can listen to the feature here from approximately 1.40pm.
