Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Angry exchange on British pork prices

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Retailers and pork producers in Britain have been exchanging angry words over pork pricing.

In early March, Andrew Opie, the director of food for the British Retail Consortium, complained in a letter to TheGrocer online magazine, that retailers "are an easy target" for pig producer protests. "Supermarkets don't pay producers directly for pork" and making pork more expensive in stores "will just cause customers to buy less, the exact opposite of what farmers want," he said.

Stewart Houston, chair of the British Pork Executive (BPEX), replied to the same magazine that a BPEX report showed that retailers were making £16 million a week selling pork and pork products, "profitable processors" made £8 million and farmers were losing £3 million.

Houston charged that retailers have recently been importing greatly increased volumes of cheap pork produced to lower welfare standards than currently apply in Britain.

The reason behind the angry words, and the protests, is the feed pricing crisis in Britain. BP
 

Current Issue

April 2026

Better Pork Magazine

Farms.com Swine News

Strychnine training available now

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

The mandatory training course for Prairie individuals planning to apply or distribute strychnine to control Richardson’s ground squirrels (gophers), is available now. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is offering the course until Aug. 1 to people in Saskatchewan... Read this article online

How to Keep Your Groundwater Safe and Clean 

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Groundwater plays a vital role for families and businesses in rural and agricultural settings. It supports essential activities such as livestock care, irrigation, and cleaning processes, and in many areas, it's the sole source of drinking water. For this reason, it's critical for rural... Read this article online

Rising Waters on the Canadian Prairies and Beyond

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Spring flooding is intensifying across large portions of Canada, placing farms under growing pressure during one of the most important windows of the agricultural year. From the Prairies to Central Canada and into Atlantic regions, saturated soils, elevated rivers, and damaged rural... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2026 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top