Third World pig prices higher than UKs
Poor Third World countries are prepared to pay more for their pork than British retailers. In Cambodia where Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company, ACMC Ltd, is doing business the farm-gate price paid for pigs is currently equivalent to 2.47 per kg deadweight. This compares with the UK price of just 1.51 per kg.
Retailers, he says, are making a fortune out of the pig industry while British pig farmers are losing up to 15 20 p per kg on every pig they produce.
The price paid for pigs by processors and retailers in a supposedly rich First World country hasnt reflected the increase in feed prices. Pig farmers cant sustain these losses. If prices dont increase to a realistic level, they will simply be driven out of business and retailers will have killed the goose thats laying their golden eggs, he said.
If only the major retailers would engage enthusiastically with the whole supply chain and share risk, we could all make a living and continue to provide pork and pigmeat products at an attractive price, commented BPEX chairman Stewart Houston. Even the Chinese, who have half the worlds pigs, are prepared to pay more than the British. Their pig farmers are currently receiving around 2.55 per kg, he added.