June 20, 2012

 

UK pig farmers to become more competitive over EU counterparts

 

 

Following UK's successful lobbying with the EU, Norfolk and Suffolk pig farmers will be more competitive with their European counterparts, a minister has said.

 

Sow stalls, which see pregnant pigs confined to a small space for weeks on end, reduce the cost of farming but raise concerns about animal welfare as they confine pigs to a small space, often without even enough room to turn around.

 

Their use was made illegal in Britain in 1999. But other EU nations have continued to employ them, meaning their farmers have enjoyed a competitive advantage.

 

However, the EU Commission has said it wants all member nations to comply with a partial ban on stalls by January 2013, which would limit their use on the continent and help reduce the disadvantage suffered by UK farmers.

 

But until recently it looked as though Europe's major pig farming nations might not even comply with the partial ban.

 

The UK has been pressing the commission to ensure the ban was met and as a result farming minister Jim Paice revealed that 18 out of 27 EU states would now be compliant with the EU ban by next year.

 

Speaking to the EDP from Luxembourg he said: "The latest figures show that 18 of the 27 countries expect to be 100% compliant by the end of the year and that's a lot better than the situation looked a few months ago. That's good news for pig farmers in Norfolk and Suffolk.

 

"While it would be better if it was all of them, the 18 do include our major competitors like Denmark, Holland and Belgium."

 

The minister said the only key competitor lagging on the issue was Poland, with official figures showing the nation would only be 94% compliant with the EU ban by 2013.

 

Jon Bullock, industry communications manager for BPEX, which represents the pig farming industry in England, said: "The whole industry has been campaigning on this issue since last year and it's good that it now looks as though the majority will comply.

 

"The industry must keep up the pressure on the EU to persuade those remaining countries to comply."

 

He added: "This will give us a much more level playing field. It will put us in a better competitive position."