UK bacon and ham production went up 0.6% in the last three months of 2006, compared to the third quarter of last year.
The figures went up to 47,500 tonnes, according to the latest figures from the UK department for food, environment and rural affairs (Defra).
Total production over the whole year reached 187,900 tonnes, down some 7.3% on the previous year’s level, the data revealed.
The fall has been driven mainly by a continued fall in the UK pig population.
Imports of bacon from January to June of 2006 have also fallen by 10% year-on-year and exports slid by 5% in comparison with the same period in the previous year.
As a result, overall supplies of bacon for the first nine months of this year were down some 7.1% in comparison to last year, at 336,000 tonnes.
Imports of bacon and ham to the UK have risen by nearly 4% in the third quarter of 2006, compared with the previous quarter.
Related website:
• British Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra)
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