asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Marine, Landscape and Rural Affairs, Jonathan Shaw, on 10 December 2007 (Official Report, cols. 39-40W), what assessment they have made of the effect of the drop in the number of pigs in breeding herds from 629,915 in 1998 to 374,861 in 2007; and what steps are in place to reduce this decline. [HL1265]
Information on UK breeding pigs and pigmeat production is collected in various forms by Defra; for example the United Kingdom Pig Notice, published quarterly, includes statistics on breeding herds, slaughter and trade.
The number of pigs in breeding herds declined after 1998 for several reasons including the effects on productivity of animal diseases, and also the recovery of the beef market following BSE, the costs of production, exchange rate movements and increased competition from imports. The government-funded Pig Industry Restructuring Scheme of 2000-01 was brought in to help secure the longer-term viability of the sector. The decline in the breeding herds has slowed in recent years although the industry continues to face considerable challenges. It is to be commended for working to secure a sustainable future through market principles and improvements in efficiency and production standards. Defra is supportive of the efforts of the industry and is currently funding a £2 million programme through the Meat and Livestock Commission to aid market recovery in the pigmeat and other red meat sectors affected by last year's foot and mouth outbreak.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the figures for the importation of pig meat into the United Kingdom for each year during the period 1998 to 2007. [HL1266]
The tables below show the volume and value of pigmeat imported into the UK each year since 1998 as recorded in the official trade statistics.
Tonnes Year Pork, frozen Pork, fresh or chilled Pig offal, fresh, chilled or frozen Pig meat and offal (other than liver) prepared or preserved Bacon, ham, etc. Total volume of pigmeat 1998 56,049 99,850 18,463 53,677 231,397 459,436 1999 66,799 147,654 18,833 41,884 231,303 506,473 2000 72,883 172,651 28,176 45,671 267,925 587,308 2001 71,658 167,521 22,882 45,945 281,305 589,311 2002 74,850 201,077 18,524 45,365 291,634 631,450 2003 107,690 272,815 21,371 43,164 303,181 748,220 2004 95,683 287,800 20,120 52,622 301,721 757,946 2005 85,646 346,343 18,826 50,505 283,413 784,733 2006 81,643 377,125 18,360 53,289 263,961 794,378 Jan-Oct 2007 74,729 302,623 12,863 51,410 227,163 668,787
£000s Year Pork, frozen Pork, fresh or chilled Pig offal, fresh, chilled or frozen Pig meat and offal (other than liver) prepared or preserved Bacon, ham, etc. Total value of pigmeat 1998 51,430 124,343 8,636 105,7061 375,518 665,633 1999 53,493 161,867 5,747 102,778 398,902 722,787 2000 65,698 209,453 5,839 117,000 456,352 854,343 2001 73,051 262,707 10,679 129,366 568,136 1,043,939 2002 66,024 265,004 8,649 118,922 568,519 1,027,117 2003 90,421 373,530 9,104 116,828 622,626 1,212,510 2004 95,145 401,834 9,577 141,440 547,871 1,195,868 2005 103,859 486,213 11,434 159,731 528,036 1,289,273 2006 104,716 577,713 10,927 174,040 550,241 1,417,637 Jan-Oct 2007 91,130 451,714 7,472 156,405 451,810 1,158, 531
© Crown Copyright
Source: H M Revenue and Customs.
Data prepared by Trade Statistics, Agricultural Statistics and Analysis Division, Defra.
2007 data are subject to amendments.