Currently, the national herd produces 9 million pigs a year, but to meet the loin requirements of consumers — much of it in the form of bacon — it would need to produce 23 million pigs, says GB journal Pig World.

The UK's production industry is also unable to meet all the demand for legs — to do that we would need to produce 19 million pigs. And because it is unable to balance the carcase on the domestic market, it actually produces an excess of six million pigs a year than consumers' want for shoulder meat.

Less Bacon, More Equal

Other European countries have less of a carcase-balance problem because they have a lower demand for loin, mainly because they eat less bacon. Furthermore they eat more processed products, which make use of cheaper cuts.

The Danes, for instance, export much of their loin to Britain, whilst at home they make more use of shoulder meat. Most shoulder meat produced in Britain goes into sausages.

Demand for pork in Britain remains strong but last year's poor summer did hit sales of premium ham.

View the Pig World story by clicking here.