ACMC to help boost Malta's pig industry

An East Yorkshire firm, ACMC Ltd. is helping to revive the pig industry in Malta by providing live pigs and semen to improve the country's pig herd and production, according to reports.

The firm specialises in selective pig breeding to improve specific characteristics in the animal such as fertility and build.

"We're able to choose animals which achieve in particular areas. So over time we can improve a trait through natural selection," said ACMC managing director Matthew Curtis.

"Our pigs have the ability to produce lots of young and as a result of that, they're much more efficient to farm. But the other advantage which [the farmers have] seen is that they can grow quickly and also convert food to muscle very efficiently," Curtis said.

Reports stated that a new artificial insemination station has been commissioned to allow Maltese farmers to create their own breeds using the genes of the pigs in Beeford. The station is run by a farmers' cooperative.