The backlog of pigs on farms is not improving and for some producers it is getting worse, the sector has warned amid calls for the government to issue new support.
The National Pig Association (NPA) has urged Defra Secretary George Eustice to convene a roundtable bringing together all parts of the supply chain to discuss the worsening crisis.
The government’s support package announced in mid-October has not yet made a difference to the pig sector's crisis, the NPA warned.
Measures in the package include 800 new butchers' visas, a private storage aid scheme and incentives for processors to put on extra kills.
They were designed to increase pig throughput in processing plants and, in turn, help reduce the severe backlog on farms.
But the NPA said very few extra butchers had applied, while there had been little interest in the private storage aid scheme.
Processors remain short of butchers and, while they have been putting on extra kills to try and ease the backlog, the trade body said "they are still not processing anything like the number of pigs that are available on farm".
The sector's current crisis is a direct result of slaughterhouse and butchery worker shortages linked to Brexit and the impact of the pandemic.
Feed prices are also continuing to increase while pig prices plummet, adding to the already dire financial situation faced by many farmers.
According to the NPA, 16,000 pigs have been culled on farms, but this figure is likely to be a "gross under-estimate once unreported cases are factored in".
A survey undertaken last week by members of the organisation showed that more than one-in-ten farmers who responded said they had culled pigs on-farm.
Nearly five in every six producers reported extra pigs on their farms, with 17% trying to cope with more than 1,000 extra pigs.
Nearly 40% of respondents said the situation was getting worse, while more than half said it was unchanged. Just 8.5% said it was improving.
Compounding the problem, as producers feed more pigs for longer, is the crippling feed cost, which continues to increase from already-record levels, with wheat currently trading at around £230/tonne.
The NPA said Defra must "carry out proper oversight of its support package to ensure it delivers on its aim of reducing the backlog on farms, rather than just helping processors out of their problems."
The group's chairman Rob Mutimer said: “We have also asked George Eustice to convene a roundtable meeting for all interested parties in this disaster to try and thrash out solutions, and we are yet to receive an answer.
“The support package is not working and we need more help from government and across the supply chain.”
The NPA’s Pig Industry Group met online last week, with talks reinforcing how serious the situation is across the sector, with little immediate sign of things improving.
Mr Mutimer said many pig producers were "punch drunk, it has been going on for so long", adding that the "situation is not getting any better".
"With Christmas coming up and we are going to lose more slaughter days," he said, "When you also look at these massively rising feed prices, it really looks dire. We are getting very worried.
“We are still searching for a solution as to how we get rid of these extra pigs on farm because it does not look like that is going to happen any time soon, which is deeply disappointing.”
