More commitments are needed from some of the biggest UK retailers in order to secure the future of British pig production, the sector has warned.
The latest AHDB Porkwatch survey shows that five of the UK’s big retailers – Aldi, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s - supported UK pig farmers by stocking 100% British fresh pork in March.
There was little movement, however, from two of the UK’s biggest retailers – Tesco’s British pork facings were up from 57% in January to 58%.
Asda was also on 58% in March, down slightly from January, although both were up on a year ago. Iceland had just 24% British pork on display.
It comes as the National Pig Association (NPA) and other industry bodies continue to pile pressure on retailers to back struggling pig farmers.
They are calling on the UK's largest supermarket chains to source British pork products and pay enough to ensure producers can at least match soaring production costs.
The sector has already lost 43,000 sows and 10% of its production capacity due to the pig backlog crisis caused by a severe labour shortage as a result of the pandemic and Brexit.
More recently, farmers have seen feed prices surge as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with some warning the sector is now close to collapsing.
Overall, across the 11 retailers surveyed, the percentage of British pork on display went up slightly to 81%, while bacon was up from 55% to 57%, ham was slightly down at 65% and sausage was stable at 86%.
The best performers were M&S, which also recorded 100% British on bacon and sausage and 98% on ham, and Co-op, with 100% on bacon, 99% and 82% on sausage.
However, as well as relatively low figures for pork, Asda stocked only 26% British ham and 36% bacon, while Tesco was at 42% for bacon, albeit well up on a year ago, and 60% for ham, down from 65% in January.
Responding to the survey, NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said that the UK's retailers "hold the key to the future of the British pig industry".
“Some retailers are continuing to back British pig farming in their sourcing policies, and some, but not nearly enough, are genuinely trying to get more money to producers.
"But we need to see a lot more commitment from some our biggest names in the retail sector to secure the future of British pig production."
She added: “We understand why there is a focus on trying to keep prices down in stores – but that must not be at the cost of producers at the sharp end of the supply chain.
“If retailers lose their supply of British pork, they won’t get it back and their consumers will be missing out – it is in everyone’s interest to back British pig producers at this time.”
