A MASSIVE shortfall in the price of pork could spell disaster for Knutsford's pig farmers.

Chelford-based agricultural auctioneers Marshall's and the National Farmers Union have called on local consumers to insist on British products when they shop.

They warned if they didn't, the industry might not survive. "I don't know how long I will be able to keep them," said Ashley farmer Peter Jackson of his 300-pig herd.

Butchers' pigs have halved in price during the last 12 months - and cheap imports are now flooding the country.

Mr Jackson said it now cost him more to rear a pig at Tanyard Farm than he received for it on the market.

"We are getting 20 to 25 pence a pound," he said. "In the supermarkets it's about £2 or £3 a pound.

"So where is that money going?"

The strong British pound and tough new welfare standards are making home-bred pork less attractive to the supermarkets. "They buy from abroad and don't know where they are coming from," he said.

"Nor what sort of drugs they have been given and how they are brought on."

Farmers, like Mr Jackson, also want a more level playing field. They believe restricting imports from countries which don't have Britain's high standards would help.

"We won't get handouts from this Government," he said.

"They don't seem to want farmers. Several years ago it was the miners. Now it's the farmers' turn."

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