January 18, 2008

British ham production falls by 11.4-percent in 2007
 

British ham and bacon production was at 175,000 tonnes in 2007, a drop of 22,600 tonnes from the year before,  the largest ham production decrease in the last five years.

Meanwhile, imports have decreased in 2007 - 86,200 tonnes of the 175,200 tonnes are imported meat, compared to 2005 which had 112,100 tonnes and 2006, which had 109,400 tonnes

Despite the decrease in imported meats, fears that they could destabilise domestic production still remain .

In 2006, 55 percent of British ham and bacon was produced on the island but it had decreased to 51 percent by  2007.

British Pig Executive (BPEX) chief executive Mick Sloyan feels that the English pig producers are impeded  by the constantly rising feed costs and stagnant pig prices.

However the latest Cost of Production survey published by BPEX, revealed a silver lining:- Britain has shown improvements in both litters per sow and pigs born alive per litter.

The UK remains among those EU countries with relatively high production costs with the costs associated with higher welfare systems.