German BSE scare hits cull sows hard

By Peter Crichton

THE UKs cull sow market is close to collapse.

This is due to the BSE situation in Germany which is the major outlet for the bulk of UK cull sow exports.

Because of the inclusion of manufacturing-grade beef in some of the pork-based sausage meat products, these have been recalled, and consumer confidence has been severely compromised.

As a result, German sow-meat buyers have seen their orders decline and have cancelled imports from the UK.

This has lead to a waiting list of several thousand sows awaiting slaughter in the UK, and major producer price cuts.

• Peter Crichton is a Suffolk-based pig farmer offering independent valuation and consultancy services to the UK pig industry