The British public has come out in support of pig farmers campaigning for better prices from processors and retailers.

The £500,000 campaign was launched last week by BPEX as a last-ditch effort to keep Britain's pig industry afloat in the face of soaring feed costs. Supporters cited a study by YouGov indicating that 42% of consumers would pay an extra 10% for pork products, and a further 36% would pay 5% more.Only 9% of consumers felt farmers were paid a fair price by retailers. "We're asking for modest increases of a few pence on a pack of pork, bacon, ham and sausages," said Stewart Houston, chairman of BPEX. "The survey results show that many, many consumers will be happy to pay this."

Tesco raised the shelf price of some pork lines by 10% last week but is waiting for other retailers to follow suit before increasing the amount it pays farmers.

More than 1,000 people have signed an online petition supporting the campaign.

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