Everyone has to make a margin, but the real culprit in the prospective closure of the Hall's of Broxburn meat processing plant would appear to be the supermarkets, which have been happy enough to bump up the cost to shoppers over the past few years but have been less eager to pass these price increases back down the supply chain.
Pig farmers, in particular, have been hit by drastic increases in food, fuel and fertiliser and, given limited supply, have been able to charge the processors more for live pigs. No wonder the Broxburn plant, which supplies about 75% of all Asda's pork products, has been losing £80,000 a day.
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