NPA in the United Kingdom welcomes support package for the pig industry, but warns that situation remains critical

Published 2021년 10월 15일

Tridge summary

The National Pig Authorsity (NPA) has expressed satisfaction with the UK government's aid package for the pig industry, which includes 800 temporary visas for butchers, a private storage aid scheme, and a temporary pork levy holiday. However, the NPA emphasizes the need for immediate and effective implementation of these measures to address the critical situation on farms, where large numbers of pigs are backed up due to processing plant staff shortages, leading to mass culling and high feed costs. The NPA and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) have called for continued government engagement and support for the food supply chain to alleviate labor shortages and promote the consumption of British pork.

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Original content

The NPA has welcomed the Government’s support package for the pig industry, but has warned that the situation on many farms remains at critical point. The Government’s announcement includes temporary visas for 800 butchers to work in UK plants and a private storage aid scheme, alongside a one-month pork levy holiday. The Government said it would also work with industry to introduce processing of animals on Saturdays and longer working days where possible. However, the NPA stressed that, with the situation on farms getting worse and more pigs being culled to create space, the measures need to be implemented promptly and effectively to bring about real improvement. The latest Defra figures show that pig slaughterings in September were down 13% down on a year ago at 792,000 head, 137,000 fewer than September 2020, as staff shortages, particularly of skilled butchers, badly hampered throughput in processing plants. The September figures are also 15% down on August and 16% on July. ...

Source: PigWorld