Defra rejects pig sector plea for Covid support

Defra has rejected a plea for a £3.2m Covid-19 compensation package for England’s pig sector.

The request was made by the National Pig Association (NPA) in February this year as prices plunged to below 140p/kg.  

Key to the fall was the loss of trade to China which banned UK exports because of fears over Covid-19 transmission on imports. In addition, Covid-hit processors shut down operations and throughput fell sharply.

See also: How award-winning pig farmer tapped into China export market

Pig numbers backed up on farms and with no outlet, the still-growing animals went beyond target spec weights. This saw processors levy huge discounts of £50 a pig and, against a background of soaring feed prices, many farm businesses were forced to quit production.

NPA estimates suggest the breeding herd was cut by 13,000 head in the first quarter of 2021. The difficulties were recognised by administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland which supported their pig sectors with compensation packages.

However, in contrast to the devolved governments, Defra farm minister Victoria Prentis said a compensation package would “not be appropriate” in England.

‘More optimistic outlook’

Writing to NPA chairman Rob Mutimer, Ms Prentis pointed to “a more optimistic outlook for pig prices” as one reason for not matching devolved region support.

The minister also stressed that NI and Scottish producers had been harder hit by regional plant closures and price discounts, directly related to lost export markets.

On the lost China export licences, she said Defra was working with the British embassy in Beijing to press for a relisting of UK plants. But she acknowledged that China had not yet responded to the repeated requests made at working and ministerial level.

Ms Prentis added the government would not offer any support on the labour shortages due to Brexit and Covid-19 difficulties. She insisted that the government would not introduce a general low-skilled or temporary work route for the pig sector.

Huge disappointment

In response, Mr Mutimer said he was hugely disappointed by the decision because the crisis had left a huge hole in pig business finances.

Record input costs wiped out any benefit of higher prices, leaving farmers with negative margins and no chance of recovery. 

Mr Mutimer said the government had failed to grasp the severity of the situation and clearly had little intention of supporting the sector in any way.  

“We fear the pig industry is heading towards a severe crisis, due, in part, to the global pandemic, but also to the restrictive government immigration policy introduced at the start of this year,” Mr Mutimer said.

“Our requests for support were proportionate and reflected the severity of the situation, and, in terms of Covid compensation, were in line with what was delivered months ago in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“We will continue to press for a compensation package, especially now as many of the support schemes announced during the pandemic are coming to an end.”