SANDRA TELLS RETAILERS TO STOP HOGGING THE TROUGH

3.51.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 31st Mar 2008

Following her recent meetings with representatives of the pig farming industry in Westminster, Hampshire and Southampton MP Sandra Gidley has today called upon the Chief Executives of all the major food retailers in the UK to increase the prices they pay for pigs in order to stave off the growing crisis in the pig farming industry.

In a letter sent to the Chief Executives of 16 major retailers, including ASDA, Tesco, and Marks and Spencer, Sandra laid out the desperate plight of the pig farming industry. She also urged the companies to increase the prices that they pay for pigs, to enable more of the money paid by consumers to filter down to the producers.

Sandra said:

"With feed costs on the rise, pig farmers across Hampshire are facing up to losses of £26 per pig, and are struggling to make ends meet.

"Consumers both in Hampshire and across the country have said that they are happy to pay more for their pork, but if the farmers don't get a fair price for their pigs, many will struggle to carry on in business at all.

"Pigs reared in the UK are subject to the highest animal welfare standards in the world. Not only is this crisis affecting pig farmers themselves, but it is also one that will affect consumers, reducing the quality of the meat on offer to them.

"Farmers are not asking for special treatment, merely to be paid a fair price for their labour.

"Even a small increase of between 7p and 17p per item on the shelves would go a long way to helping pig farmers, and ensure that the British public can continue to purchase high-quality local produce.

ENDS