BACON TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 3, 5 January 1932, Page 12

BACON TRADE

ENGLAND'S FOREIGN BILL

home: production urged

(From "The Posts* Representative.) LONDON, sth, November, i The agricultural correspondent of jtb-6 "Daily: Mail", suggests tliat;■, England should supply her own pig'products, and he loots to the National Government to do something to-bring about this desirable end without loss of time. The;yearly imports of bacon fronr Denmark to this country amount in: value to'^ about £27,000,000, and from' all ; sources wa - take more than ;£.140,000,000 worth.: There is a furtheT suni ■of about £ 8,000,000 for hams and pork, and- Dr.. Alex. Calder hag "calcur la ted, taking -present prices as a basis, that;the-.total.valueof'all.our importedpig'products is equal to 'that of 12,000,000 pigs. ' . ' ' The totiil number of pigs in t}reat ( Britain at present (says the' correspondent)' is about -2,500,000. Wb could —and should, given a little time—in-; crease our- pig • population by that 12,000,000 pigs, which is; to : imply that ,it -would be ■ perfectly easy, provided that the pig industry were given a fair chance, to supply the whole ■ of : our bacon ■■. requirements. • Some experts'do not favour si tariff in. this connection^ but rather a reasonable and equitable system of regii-' lating foreign imports. This could be put into practice it once, and would mean'that pig breeders could.tiininedi,'ately set about the task of bringing the pig population' nearer, and ultimately up to, the nation's requirements. The pig increases quickly, and thi country could maintain all the herds it needs, for pig 'production in Britain is not limited'by-area, like wheat production. '•" ■ ■ ■ ■.';'■'' ■ The regulation of imports, adjusting them to home supplies, would conduce ti. that continuity of output of bacon pigs which'our bacon trade so greatly1 needs: '"• '• '- : ' • . ' " ..; "V