An exodus of under-pressure pig farmers has been predicted by a Norfolk industry leader - unless supermarkets raise prices for home-grown producers.

Rob Mutimer told more than 40 members of Holt and District Farmers’ Club that retailers must pay more for high-quality, welfare-friendly British pork to prevent people quitting the industry after months of financial hardship.

Mr Mutimer, who is chairman of the National Pig Association and runs about 700 outdoor sows at Swannington, near Reepham, said the current pig price of about 148p/kg was not sustainable.

He said animal feed accounted for about 70pc of total production costs.

And with wheat now around £300 per tonne, and other costs such as subsidised red diesel also soaring rapidly as a result of the war in Ukraine, the burden on producers was becoming intolerable, said Mr Mutimer.

He said urgent discussions have started with supermarkets to secure better returns for producers.

Mr Mutimer said Britain has led the field over the past few decades in the production of outdoor and welfare-friendly pork.

And the industry had made great strides in reducing the use of antibiotics in pig production. In the past five years, it had cut use of antibiotics by 72pc, he said.

His parents Tom and Janet Mutimer, had been among the first in Norfolk to start a fully outdoor pig herd in 1973 at Woodlands Farm. He had taken over this livestock enterprise and expanded production in a long-term relationship with Waitrose since 1995.

He said it has been a successful partnership and today, 90pc of the company's production went to Waitrose and the remaining 10pc to the family’s Swannington Farm to Fork butchery business.

Now run by Mr Mutimer with his wife Helen, it supplies 160 customers and employs almost 20 dedicated staff rearing pigs, processing and delivering across Norfolk.

It started in 2005 and in the past decade, between 2012 and 2019 had grown at a constant 14pc a year, he said.

He said producers had been losing heavily for many months and just a few weeks ago, it seemed that there were the first hints of an improvement in the industry’s fortunes.

However, massive increases in feed wheat and also soya, another key ingredient for most pig rations, were not helping, said Mr Mutimer.