SCOTLAND'S PIG sector is facing 'its worst crisis in a generation'.

That was the message from East Lothian pig farmer Jamie Wyllie when he welcomed Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon onto his farm this week.

Mr Wyllie stressed that pig farms across the country are all now operating at a substantial and growing loss. He estimated that losses of around £26 per pig in February 2021 have since deepened to more than £56 per pig, and warned that overdrafts were rising at 'an alarming rate', with several Scottish farmers having already sold off sows to cut their losses.

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The pig sector encountered significant disruption during the Covid pandemic, which affected processing capacity and saw the partial closure of Scotland’s largest pig abattoir facility at Brechin. Disappointingly, several major retailers have continued to stock significant volumes of imported pork, undermining home production, while the dramatic spike in animal feed prices in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has significantly increased the scale of current losses on pig farms.

It was, said Mr Wyllie, in the interests of Scottish consumers, processors, and retailers that farmgate prices for pigs rise immediately to stave off a rapid rate of herd liquidations.

Speaking on behalf of NFU Scotland, Mr Wyllie thanked the Cabinet Secretary for the pig hardship scheme in Scotland, but called on her to consider further immediate, direct support for the sector to ensure a critical mass of production is preserved. He also asked for Scottish Government to consider an ‘Ongoers’ loan scheme to help financially support those who see their future in the industry.

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The Union also called on Scottish Government to seek greater retailer support for Scottish pork, pointing out that a small percentage increase in the volume of home-produced pork on supermarket shelves would make a considerable difference. Help in re-establishing the Chinese export licence at Brechin, lost because of the Covid outbreak at the plant, would also expand the market opportunities for Scottish pig producers.

At a UK level, the union also called for Scottish Government to push Westminster on the need for proper border controls to monitor pork imports and for the English language requirements for overseas butchers looking to come to the UK to work in our staff-strapped processing sector to be relaxed.