Beleaguered pig farmers have called for government supply chain reforms and fairer prices to "avert the collapse of the industry".

The National Pig Association (NPA) set out its blueprint for a "fairer, more transparent" pork supply chain in its response to Defra’s consultation on contractual practice in the sector.

It says the current system of contracts "does not function properly", with a "disproportionate spread of risk" between producers, processors and retailers.

It comes after a "catastrophic" 18 months for this key East Anglian agricultural sector, with farms nationally racking up collective losses of £600m, said the NPA.

Challenges during that time included a costly backlog of animals which began building up on farms at the end last year, as a post-Brexit labour shortage in meat factories led to pig movements being "rolled" - delayed - by processors.

Soaring feed and energy costs have left pig farmers unable to make a profit, forcing some out of business and leaving many more on the brink, said the NPA, with recent figures highlighting an 18pc decline in the breeding herd in the year to June 2022.

Key industry demands include new legislation to underpin pig contracts, which would allow producers, marketing groups and pork processers to negotiate mutually-beneficial prices.

NPA chairman Rob Mutimer, who farms at Swannington near Reepham, said: “We believe this process offers real hope for the British pig sector, which has taken an absolute battering over the past 18 months.

"It has become fairly obvious to all involved that the supply chain, as it stands, is broken.

"Contracts, where they exist, have proved to be not worth the paper they are written on for many, and those producers have been left powerless as their pigs have been rolled week after week.

"Allied with other factors such as Brexit-related labour shortages and soaring feed and energy costs, driven by the war in Ukraine, the situation has left the pig sector hugely damaged to the extent that our capacity to produce pork in this country is now under threat.

"We believe the measures that we and others who have responded are calling for will, if implemented, form the basis of a stronger, more coherent supply chain where all parts have the opportunity to thrive."

The NPA is also calling for better forecasting to improve business planning, and for pork buyers to make better use of the entire pig carcass, rather than just selective cuts.