Pig industry crisis

Charles Hunter
Politics Show East Midlands

Pig Farmers took grievance to Westminster

The East Midlands Politics Show investigates the region's troubled pig industry and asks whether or not it is all gloom and doom.

The good news: The European Union values Melton Mowbray Pork Pies as highly as Champagne and Gorgonzola cheese.

Last week the European Union published the East Midlands pies on its list of "Protected Geographic Indication".

It means that the pies can only be made in our region - and that has got to be good news for the pork producers.

This little pig made a loss

The bad news is that the East Midlands' pig farmers are faring no better than their peers across Britain.

They are losing about £20 on every pig sold

Farmers say they are having to cope with a huge increase in the price of soya - pigs' principal foodstuff.

Supermarkets have increased prices, but only a fraction of that increase finds its way back to the producers.

From August 2007 to February 2008, pork prices in supermarkets increased by 30p per kilo. But only 1.5p has been passed on to the producers.

Robin Powell lunches on a choice Melton Pie, a great example of added value, and asks if the pork in the pie has made a profit for its farmers, before visiting pig farms where times are hard.

According to Julian Wiseman, Professor of Animal Production at the University of Nottingham, the UK pig herd has halved from one million in the last nine years.

He fears that the industry could be in terminal decline.

But can the pig farmers hang on for better times?

Pig industry not out of the woods

Farming today, gone tomorrow?

Professor Wiseman believes that the cheap food era will end over the next five years and farmers who can ride the storm now may come out stronger.

Porkies?

The Politics Show puts Andrew Opie, Director of Food Policy at the British Retail Consortium, on the spot to justify the supermarkets' stance.

Robin Powell has also been speaking to Leicestershire MP, David Taylor, about what politicians can do to help an industry that receives no subsidy.

In the studio, Marie Ashby will be speaking to the head of the British Pig Association, Barney Kay.

Should farmers be squealing quite so long and so loud?

Also on the programme

Criminals taking advantage of Eurozone's open borders

Euro Cops?

Europe prides itself on its open borders. But one of our East Midlands European MPs is concerned that open borders mean open to criminals.

Bill Newton-Dunn MEP is calling for a European equivalent of the American Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

It would be a police agency whose officials can pass freely across all borders and enforce laws in all member countries.

At the moment, according to Bill Newton-Dunn, organised crime can take advantage of free movement around Europe but national police forces cannot cross borders in pursuit.

"Governments don't want to do anything about it," Newton-Dunn told a drugs and crime conference in Nottingham this week, "because it might frighten the public.

"And they don't tell the public the scale of criminality involved."

As well as drugs, the international counterfeiting trade is booming, and taking full advantage of the Euro zone's open borders.

Bill Newton-Dunn claims that 50% of the handbags sold under a famous brand are illegal imitations and that even branded baby food may be dangerously faked.

Phoney mechanical spare parts have, he says, caused at least one air crash and now fake pharmaceuticals are getting into the main supply line.

But Derek Clark, the UK Independence Party's MEP for the East Midlands, does not support any police force, that is not British having powers in this country.

"If Europe had not torn down internal borders we wouldn't even have this problem," he insists.

Both Members of the European Parliament will be in the studio to continue this discussion.

E-mail us with your views using the form below.

Join Jon Sopel and Marie Ashby on the Politics Show for the East Midlands - Sunday 13 April 2008 at 14:00 BST on BBC One.

Ring us with your views on 0500 900 900 or email on the form below.

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