Britain's pig farmers have slammed the British Retail Consortium for telling BBC Radio York that producers were "doing perfectly well".

The National Pig Association has received dozens of angry calls about the comments by a BRC spokesman.

It claims that, on the contrary, up to 95% of producers are seriously thinking of quitting after Christmas, and that the average pig makes a loss of £25 when it is sold. The NPA and the British Pig Executive have now launched a publicity campaign - centring on a touring Pig-o-meter - calling for higher pork prices.

"The BRC's comments couldn't be further from the truth," said Mick Sloyan, chief executive of BPEX.

"The average producer is getting little more than £1.09/kg dw for pigs, but with soaring feed prices they need £1.40/kg to cover all their costs."

Recent rises in the shelf price of pork, which have equated to an extra 15p on a 250g pack of bacon, have not reached farmers, he said, accusing the retailers of pocketing the much-needed extra cash themselves.

"Shelf prices have moved up but farmers are getting no more now than they were in the summer," he said. "If we don't see an increase between now and Christmas, a lot of producers are going to quit."

At the centre of the latest campaign is the Pig-o-meter, which displays the growing losses incurred by producers who have to sell pigmeat at below the cost of production. It ticks up £6 per second, or more than £3.5m each week, and is being paraded around major British cities.

Newcastle upon Tyne and York were the first two destinations last week on a nationwide tour.

"We hope consumers will increase pressure on the retailers to act," said Sloyan. "Even 6-8p/kg extra would be a step in the right direction and a psychological boost to producers."

The NPA and BPEX are also monitoring levels of sow culling as an indication of the number of herds being liquidated by farmers, and have vowed to keep retailers informed of any increase.

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