Mr Dodd claimed that the UK Pig producers’ campaign for an urgent rise in prices was not supported by the facts.

He said that supermarkets recognised that costs have gone up and there is strong evidence to show that they’re paying more. He claimed the prices being received by pig farmers had increased five percent since February… “So pig farmers are actually benefiting, as are other farmers, from those rising world prices," he said.

However, he believed that there were differences between different groups of farmers. Speaking during a radio interview he said that some are doing perfectly well.

"The recent Competition Commission investigation had concluded there was no systematic unfairness between supermarkets and suppliers," he said. “That’s not going to stop these campaigners arguing their case because this is what they believe, but unfortunately for them the facts actually don’t support it.”

Mr Dodd said supermarkets did not dictate commodity prices. They were set by world markets and by supply and demand. Food prices had increased as a result of cost pressures on farmers.

“If supermarkets were able to screw down suppliers and pay as little as they wanted to them, we wouldn't have prices actually going up for customers,” he said.