Thread by @pmdfoster

🚨🇪🇺🇬🇧🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🇬🇧🇪🇺🚨More than 100,000 British pigs stranded by #Brexit border problems - @JudithEvans1 and me for @FinancialTimes ...so what’s going on? /1

on.ft.com/3qUDAkt

@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes So the problems are being caused by the difficulties in getting pigs to market in the EU - that means animals that should be being slaughtered are being left on farms. And that costs farmers money to feed animals that should be slaughtered & in shops /2

@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes So. Norfolk Pig farmer Rob Mutimer from @Swanningtonfarm tells me he has 2,000 extra pigs on his farm!

Mostly those are pigs read for slaughter (they should be killed at 80kg, but are now at 100kg) AND about 70 old sows that should be off to EU (Germany) to become salami /3

@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes So that's $$$$$ to feed pigs, because as @NatPigAssoc says in a letter to @MPGeorgeEustice @DefraGovUK the cost of food and fodder has sky-rocketed this year...so most pigs farmers are facing Q1 losses now /4

@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes @NatPigAssoc @MPGeorgeEustice @DefraGovUK This backlog is being caused by queues at the border (well documented) which mean that Rob Mutimer cannot reliably get his pigs to that German salami factory....which risks that factory going elsewhere, given that there is a glut of pig meat at the moment /5

@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes @NatPigAssoc @MPGeorgeEustice @DefraGovUK As Mr Mutimer tells me: “If we don’t get this trade flow issue sorted out then we’ll lose these markets that have been around all my lifetime."

This is much misunderstood - how hassle/reliability issues caused by #Brexit borders corrodes longstanding relationships /6

@JudithEvans1 @FinancialTimes @NatPigAssoc @MPGeorgeEustice @DefraGovUK Which brings us to the next issue - as @NatPigAssoc letter says, demand for pork is going up - retail spend up 14.5% and volume up 8.3% year on year - BUT a lot of that is being filled with "cheaper EU imports" (back to that EU pig glut coz of issues with China)...so.../7

This brings us to the next 'beef'...and you're gonna hear lot more of this...which is that while EU exporters get a free ride into UK (coz UK gov unilaterally gave them grace period) UK exporters are being hammered at the EU ports, and UK is not reciprocating./8

The way Mr Mutimer sees it, @BorisJohnson has left UK farmers defenceless - unable to export properly and not able to take measures on EU imports that might get wheels turning on the EU side. An unequal treaty! "They're able to take the mickey" he said to me /9

@BorisJohnson As the @NatPigAssoc puts it: "The overall picture is now one of enormous disruption to our export supply chain but of minimal problems and relative ease for EU imports into the UK." /10

@BorisJohnson @NatPigAssoc See more from the letter, but UK vets aren't coping, UK exporters are getting hit by checks and, in short, the UK's little piggies aren't getting to market and the EU wolves are free to blow our house down, or at least chomp up demand. ENDS