Tesco announces extra funding for struggling pig industry

Supermarket Tesco today (16) announced that it has secured an additional 6.6 million pounds of support for the country's struggling pig industry.

Tesco said an "accelerated and enhanced payment plan" would see its suppliers, including London listed Cranswick, give more money to farmers, increasing payments by 6.6 million pounds until August and bringing support for Tesco farmers to a total of 10 million pounds since the start of March.

"Tesco will work with its suppliers to ensure the investment gets passed to farmers as quickly as possible," it said.

The announcement comes a week after the National Pig Association (NPA) called out Tesco for not doing enough for Britain's pig sector.

UK pig farmers are facing unprecedented losses as costs of production soar due to record feed prices on the back of higher wheat prices caused by the war in Ukraine.

The supermarket group said it has also been supporting the industry since the turn of the year by taking more pigs to help clear the backlog of animals on British farms.

Since January, Tesco has taken an extra 32,000 pigs, and plans to take a further extra 22,000 in the months ahead.

The support follows a number of initiatives designed to help British pig farmers and boost the amount of British pork in Tesco stores. The support follows a number of initiatives designed to help British pig farmers and boost the amount of British pork in Tesco stores, including adding more fresh British pork products in store, introducing an additional 15 pork promotions in store for customers since January and launching an ‘I Love British’ brand in our bacon range, with a ham product launching later this month, under which 5p per pack contribution will be passed onto farmers in the supply chain.

In the longer-term, Tesco has committed to reviewing pricing on a more frequent basis, providing more flexibility for farmers when market prices change.

Tesco will also work with UK suppliers to build a closer relationship with farmers, increase transparency in pig supply chains and ensure they are sustainable for the long-term.

Tesco Fresh Commercial Director, Dominic Morrey, commented: “We fully recognise the seriousness of the situation UK pig farmers are facing and have been working closely with our suppliers to understand what more we can do to support the sector.