The uk pig industry could save over £40m per year by making a small improvement to feed conversion, according to Stephen Curtis, who was speaking at an ACMC Ltd conference in Yorkshire.

Having suffered a number of problems, such as disease and poor prices, over the last 10 years the pig industry was urged to further reduce costs.

ACMC chairman Mr Curtis said: "Increased costs, mainly on the back of higher world energy prices, are going to hit our industry hard, whether we like it or not."

Disease, he said, had the biggest impact on margins and he questioned how many of the diseases, such as FMD, PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome) and PMWS (post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome), which had nearly broken the back of the British industry, actually originated in the UK. He said: "Before joining the EU, any germ plasm coming into our island had to go through strict quarantine. Since joining we have, through the help of our Government, helped our competitors generously by opening our doors to imported semen and live animals with almost no controls. The two latest viruses PRRS and PMWS have caused death, poor performance and high drug costs, while foot-and-mouth disease and swine fever prevented pigmeat exports for extended periods, thus reducing farm gate prices."

But Mr Curtis said that improved genetics could go a long way to reducing costs. An improvement in feed conversion of 0.1 was worth £1.65 on an 80kg deadweight pig.

He said that in the last five years, ACMC had improved output by 0.8 pigs per litter, reduced feed conversion by 0.16, and improved daily gain by 60kg and lean meat by 0.9pc.

The improvement in growth, feed conversion and lean were worth, respectively £4.29 per pig, £3.13 per pig and 58p per pig, while the extra pigs produced reduced the cost per sow by £88.

He said: "Putting this all together and assuming 22 pigs reared per sow per year, the total value of this improvement amounts to £264 per sow per year."

A call for British retailers and food service companies to recognise the challenges facing the UK pig industry, and to support it, was made at the conference by BPEX chief executive Mick Sloyan who said: "This is not because the British industry is looking for preferential treatment, but because it is what consumers demand. Over two-thirds of the pork and bacon products imported into the UK would be illegal to produce here on the grounds of welfare."

This was confirmed by a survey involving a large sample of consumers. More than 90% said they were concerned or very concerned that this was the case. They felt that all pork should be produced to UK welfare standards and not be imported if it did not meet UK legislative standards.

Chris Blundell, corporate affairs director for Morrisons, the supermarket chain, outlined his commitment to the British pig industry.

He said that the company supported British agriculture and 95% of the fresh pork sold was British. He claimed that Morrisons was the only major food retailer with a long-term commitment to own and operate their own fresh food manufacturing plant, including meat processing.