Struggling pig farmers say £2m support package 'not enough'

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Scotland environment, energy and rural affairs correspondent

Independent pig farmers in Scotland have welcomed a £2m emergency support package from the Scottish government but say it's not enough to stop them losing money.

An outbreak of African Swine Fever in Spain has halted exports to countries like China and led to an oversupply of pork across Europe which is significantly driving down wholesale prices.

Farming leaders estimate the industry in Scotland is losing about £1m a month and some producers have already left the pig sector as a result.

The support package will allow independent pig farmers, who historically have been paid significantly less than larger producers, to claim back some of the losses.

Danny Skinner, who farms at Duncanstone near Insch, Aberdeenshire, has around 450 sows and sells about 270 "fat pigs" every week.

He's been losing about £40 for each animal he sells, meaning his weekly loss is around £10,000 which he describes as unsustainable.

The support from the Scottish government will reduce that loss to about £25 per pig.

He said: "We are still majorly going to be in debt. We're very grateful for something but it's not going to be the answer to our problems at the moment."

The deal allows qualifying farmers to claim the difference between the price they make for their pigs and 85% of the Standard Pig Price (SPP) which is calculated weekly.

The SPP has been sitting at around £1.75 per kg but smaller producers like Duncan have been receiving as little as £1.

The Rural Affairs Secretary Gillian Martin said she would like to be able to offer more money but there is a "challenging financial context".

She added: "This vital funding, which is only available in Scotland, will help protect local jobs, sustain Scotland's pork supply chain, safeguard the Prime Scottish Pork brand, and protect the production of high-quality, high-welfare, locally produced food.

"The pig sector is going through an incredibly difficult time, and I want to do all we can to help the most vulnerable farms."

Martin has written to the UK government calling for more urgent actions, including improving border biosecurity to prevent African Swine Fever entering the country.

The Scottish government says the total number of sows has reduced by about 15% since the start of the year and four producers have left the sector.

Pig farming is an unsupported part of the agricultural industry, which means they do not receive any government subsidies.

But the pork supply chain supports about 2,200 jobs in Scotland.

The funding will be applied retrospectively to losses incurred since March and the scheme will continue until August.

Pig producers under the same ownership as the operators of the abattoir will not qualify for funding.

NFU Scotland president Andrew Connon says the situation is "totally unsustainable" and the worst crisis that pig farmers have experienced in more than 50 years.

He added: "We need to see a fair price for the product. At the moment it's well below the cost of production and that's why the industry's in such a sorrowful state."

The £2m funding will help farmers pay off some of the debts they are incurring because of low prices - but the longer those prices remain well below previous years, the more farmers will have to consider leaving the sector.

That will inevitably mean an increased reliance on imports for pork products.