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Mr. Keith Simpson (Mid-Norfolk): Some Norfolk farmers told me last week that a number of inspectors are recruited from eastern Europe and some do not speak English properly. One inspector is from Hungary. This is not an insult to them as people, but obviously the communications problems need to be solved.
Mr. Evans: There is certainly a communications problem, but it may not be between the Hungarian
inspector and the people with whom he works. The communications breakdown is between the farmers and those working in the industry and the Government. We need some control of costs so that farmers and people in the industry have some security for the future. For instance, will the Minister tell me whether our continental neighbours face similar costs to those heaped on our industry by the Meat Hygiene Service? Do they have the same sort of hygiene service and similar numbers of inspectors and vets in their abattoirs as in the UK? If not, why not?
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Elliot Morley): The veterinary inspection procedures derive from a European Union directive and are exactly the same in other member states. Eastern European and other EU vets are working in our abattoirs because of recruitment problems in the United Kingdom, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that all of them speak English.
Mr. Evans: That is reassuring. As the Minister knows, all EU directives are enforced in this country--everything that we sign up to, we obey--but there is widespread scepticism in the industry about whether other EU countries would know an EU directive if they fell over one. The Minister, with his colleagues, must ensure that no competitive advantage is given to our EU neighbours.
Mr. Gray: My hon. Friend is more than generous in giving way twice. Is he aware that the standards of inspection in many European countries are much lower? In France, for example, only a vet is required to attend, whereas in this country a vet and a meat processor are needed. Moreover, in many European countries, inspection is paid for by the Government, whereas in this country the industry pays 100 per cent. of the costs. That is straightforward evidence from the Meat and Livestock Commission of the difference between European countries and the UK.
Mr. Evans: I am grateful for that contribution, which demonstrates the disparity between Britain and Europe. If British farmers and the British industry have to meet all the costs when farmers in other European countries do not, our neighbours will have a competitive advantage in the export market, and British farmers will suffer. That must be sorted out as quickly as possible.
The pig industry has been largely ignored in the current crisis. I saw a photograph of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in his wellies on a farm in Devon--he was surrounded by pigs. That was a great photo opportunity for him, and no doubt the pig farmers there bent his ear about the problems that the industry faces.
I pay tribute to Greg Smith and Philip Edge, two pig farmers in my constituency, whom I consulted in preparing for this debate. Their plight is typical. We must remember that the crisis is affecting small family businesses--individuals whose families have, in some cases, worked for generations in the industry. As my hon. Friend the Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) said, of the £120 million that was announced on Monday, the pig industry will receive nothing.
Mr. Morley:
It did not ask for anything.
Mr. Evans:
The Minister says that it did not ask for anything, but it is asking for help. Only a few weeks ago,
Mr. Morley:
There are no EU mechanisms on subsidies--as the hon. Gentleman said, the pig industry has never received subsidies. I emphasise that, although the pig industry has asked for a range of measures, which I shall outline, it has never requested direct subsidies.
Mr. Evans:
That may be so, but we must recognise that the industry is reeling from the same pressures as the rest of agriculture. It is pointless saying that the sector has not asked for any subsidies; it is asking for help and a range of measures irrespective of subsidies. Farmers in neighbouring countries do not have to face the costs that are being heaped on the British industry.
Pig farmers are deeply concerned about the price that they are receiving for their products. The other day, Farmers' Weekly said:
Mr. Evans:
Norfolk is an important area for pig production, but the whole of the United Kingdom is affected. I have received a letter from the Ulster Farmers Union, whose members are also reeling from the crisis. All sectors of agriculture and all parts of the United Kingdom are affected.
The strong pound has had an impact on exports. Because of the difficulties in Asia and Russia, two markets that the EU has traditionally supplied, there have been many lost contracts, which has led to an over-supply. Moreover, many farmers in the UK and elsewhere have been increasing production to try to make up for the lost money, but that depresses prices even further.
Another problem is the welfare rules. We support the ending of stalls and tethers, but we must recognise that that has led to further costs for the industry. One of my farmers told me that he had had to spend £35,000 on new production methods for his pigs, but that sum is probably at the lower end of the range--some farmers will have had
to spend much more than that. Animal welfare policies are being implemented in the United Kingdom well before they are in the rest of the European Union, with which we have to compete.
Mr. John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings):
The capital investment that my hon. Friend mentions may, on paper, become an asset, but it is hard to do anything with it, as it is not transferable or flexible. It is often said that farmers have a lot of land and capital, but that capital is not very useful in a time of crisis.
Mr. Evans:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The capital investment is not an asset when the pig farmer has had to borrow the money and now has to pay it back, with interest charges, as prices for his product fall. The welfare standards are tremendous, but I wish that they were met elsewhere, so that farmers in other European Union countries did not have a competitive advantage. What message on welfare standards will the Minister give to pig farmers? Will he ensure that pigmeat coming into this country meets the same standards as pigmeat that is produced here?
Mr. Evans:
I see the Minister nodding. We are giving our European Union neighbours, such as Holland, Denmark and France, a competitive advantage. It may be four or five years before some of those countries abandon stalls and tethers, in which time they will be able to kick British pigmeat out of the market and dominate it themselves. In that time, our farmers will go out of business, and it is very difficult for those starting up to make any impact.
Let us not give our neighbours a competitive advantage. We must fight for welfare standards throughout the whole of the European Union. If we are too far ahead of the game, we will do the British industry no service.
Mr. Morley:
I well understand the hon. Gentleman's serious point about welfare standards, but I do not agree that our competitors who do not have the same standards as ours have a marketing advantage. The British Retail Consortium's recent announcements about the sourcing of fresh pigmeat and bacon, and about extending the schemes to other processed products, show that our quality assurance schemes and buying practices give our producers a welfare and a marketing advantage over our competitors, as demonstrated by the fact that some of our continental competitors are voluntarily applying the same standards.
"Despite Brussels' recent decision to raise export subsidies, UK prices have continued to slip and are now less than half the cost of production. The number of casualties is mounting, most notably this week with the bankruptcy of Scotland's biggest pig farmer, Arthur Simmers. But the pain is not being shared equally and supermarkets continue to profit from the crisis. Since the market peaked in June last year, producer prices have slumped by a massive 55 per cent. Retail values over the same period, however, have dropped by just 13 per cent."
Mr. Keith Simpson:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way again. He is no doubt aware that Norfolk produces more than one tenth of all this country's pigs; it is estimated by local experts that the county has lost £58 million in the past 11 months because of the crisis in the industry. A farmer told me last week that his family business had lost £7,500. We do not want the Minister to give descriptions of the problems; we want answers to the specific questions that I know my hon. Friend will raise.
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