A number of pig producers have been given notice that Morrisons will be reducing its British pig supplier numbers, which the National Pig Association (NPA) said was due to a “challenging economic climate”.
Part of Morrisons’ pork range is supplied by the Woodheads abattoir in Lincolnshire, which is part of Myton Food Group.
NPA said the notice was given to longstanding suppliers to the Woodheads abattoir, as well as one “very large” supplier. It highlighted that some producers would be removed altogether, while other producers will see reduced business with the abattoir.
According to NPA, the news comes amid “extremely difficult” market conditions that are currently being endured by the UK pig sector, as pig prices have fallen steadily since the autumn. This was reportedly due to an imbalance of supply and demand, alongside low EU pig prices.
Excess supply has also been driven by a combination of additional sows being put down last year and good autumn breeding and growing performance, said NPA. It went on to say that industry had seen “stagnant demand”, made worse by factory stoppages, as pig numbers backed up on processor farms.
A Myton Food Group spokesperson said: “Due to the challenging economic climate Woodheads (part of Myton Food Group) is consolidating its processing volumes and as a result has made the difficult decision to reduce the number of pig producers in its supply chain.
“We understand the impact this news has on individual farming businesses and our goal is to handle these exits with as much clarity and fairness as possible.”
Pig supplier contract deadline “looming”
A mid-August deadline for existing contracts to comply with the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations is “looming”, NPA stressed, which requires all new pig-purchase contracts from August 2025 onward to be in writing, signed, and to include clearly defined terms on pricing, duration, volumes, termination and dispute resolution.
All contracts, regardless of when they were signed, must be compliant by 13th August 2026 as part of the one-year transition period.
In a statement on the NPA website, NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: “The onus is on processors to ensure they are compliant on all contracts by mid-August. Whilst we appreciate the very difficult market conditions currently, if this has not been discussed yet with your customers, we encourage you to start raising it now.”
