The boss of Norfolk pork supplier Cranswick said supermarkets should learn from the recent horsemeat scandal and boost the amount of UK pig products on their shelves.

Adam Couch, group chief executive of the firm, said Cranswick, which has a factory near Watton, prides itself on its transparent supply chain and the close relationship it has with its suppliers.

But, speaking to the EDP, he said that with only half of the pig meat supplied to supermarkets coming from the UK, the scandal could provide a boost to British suppliers.

And with supermarkets such as Tesco pledging to boost their use of UK beef products and suppliers, the door was open for them to take a similar approach with pork. 'Hopefully we can play a pivotal part – 70pc of the pigs coming through the operation are from within a 50-mile radius,' he said. 'It's very important, not just from a UK point of view, but from a wider consumer point of view, the fact we have already developed these close supply chains gives them confidence.

'Hopefully we can improve that balance of getting more UK pig meat product on the shelves, whether it's pig, bacon, sausages or ham. It's very important, not just for the success of our business, but also from a wider UK agricultural perspective.'

The news came during a trading update as the firm said that underlying sales were up 5pc in the year up to March 31 – rising to 9pc when including the contribution of Kingston Foods, which the firm acquired last June.

It also said that sales in the first three months of this year were up 15pc.

Last year, the firm posted sales of £821m and a pre-tax profit of £48.4m and it will post its full year results on May 20.