Over recent months I have received a number of letters, from hon. Members and others, about the difficulties currently faced by the pig industry. In addition, I have listened to the views of pig farmers, their representatives and other interested parties at seminars and regional events. May I draw my right hon. They are pig farmers in my constituency and last year, for the first time in four generations of farming, they took out a bank overdraft.
Friend is absolutely right.
I am very sympathetic to farmers who find themselves in such circumstances. I am meeting the representatives of the agricultural divisions of the main high street banks specifically to discuss the problems of the pig industry. Furthermore, the Government's strategy, which is aimed at getting the industry through what I freely acknowledge are difficult times, is aimed at securing for pig producers such as his constituents a premium in the marketplace for the animal welfare measures that Parliament voted to be put in place. I have been working, with some success, not only with the British Retail Consortium, but with the Meat and Livestock Commission and others with an interest in this matter to secure that premium for the industry in the marketplace. The figures to date show that there is a 15 per cent.