The slogan ‘Great British Pork’ was dreamt up a few years ago - but Christmas dinner plates may be laden with EU-sourced pigs in blankets this year due to a shortage of porcines in the UK.
Locally-reared gammon may also be in short supply, with shoppers forces to buy their festive cuts of pork imported from Spain and Belgium. There has been a significant drop in the numbers of pigs being bred by British farmers, the lowest in 20 years, so retailers have had to head to the continent to make up the shortfall.
The industry has warned that higher feed prices have led to farmers breeding fewer pigs. There is said to be 20 per cent less of the animals being reared than this time last year.
