SCOTLAND'S rapidly diminishing band of pig producers is under serious financial pressure with losses in the region of £20 for each animal sent to slaughter. Last Thursday's meeting of the rural affairs committee of the Scottish Parliament accepted that there were major problems. Richard Lochhead, rural affairs secretary, promised to set up a task force to investigate what the Scottish Government could do to help – but there was no offer of hard cash up front.
The position in France is somewhat different, with the government introducing a range of measures. Struan Stevenson MEP has raised this with Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU agriculture commissioner.
In a written question where he detailed the backgro
und, he said: "On 14 December 2007 the French government announced that it was to set up, for pig farmers in financial difficulty, a 3 million (£2.4m) tax rebate fund and provide a similar sum for reduced loan rates.
"On 23 January 2008 the French government announced it would double the tax rebate and increase the loan subsidy fund to 10m, which corresponds to 70m in loans for producers.
"Can the European Commission provide assurances that this financial aid will not place pig producers in other EU countries at a competitive disadvantage?"
Fischer Boel responded: "The Commission considers that such a small amount of aid granted in the agricultural sector should not affect trade between member states nor distort or threaten to distort competition."
Stevenson was far from happy with the answer. He said: "This once again illustrates the way in which France knows how to manipulate the rules to its own benefit, while also highlighting the stark contrast with the UK where our national government under Gordon Brown is quite content to let our beleaguered pig farmers go bankrupt."
Peter Loggie, policy manager at NFU Scotland, said: "As soon as we heard about the French scheme we were immediately in touch once again with the Scottish Government to ascertain what more could be done for our pig producers.
"This could mean that the French industry could survive longer than ours."
