Alert sounded over EU pig production costs

The European farmers union Copa-Cogeca has called on the European Union to take action to help pig producers face up to the sharp rise in production costs and costly regulations.
Speaking in Brussels, Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen is reported to have warned that EU pig producers were facing huge production costs, as a result of the EU’s high food safety and environmental standards which producers in non-EU countries do not have to comply with.
"Lately, feed costs have also risen sharply, partly due to the speculation in the international cereals market. EU pig producers are consequently facing major difficulties, especially as they have not had time to recover from the three-year crisis in the EU pigmeat sector,” he said.