Supermarket giant Tesco has announced £10 million in extra funding for UK pig farmers.

The pig industry continues to face challenges related to increases in on-farm costs, including feed such as wheat and soya.

The accelerated and enhanced payment plan will see Tesco suppliers increase payments to farmers by £6.6 million until August, bringing support for Tesco farmers to a total of £10 million since the start of March 2022. The retailer will work with its suppliers to ensure the investment gets passed to farmers as quickly as possible.

Tesco has been supporting the industry since the start of the year to help tackle the other major challenge it's faced, by taking more pigs to help clear the backlog of animals on British farms. Since January, the supermarket chain has taken an extra 32,000 pigs, and plans to take a further extra 22,000 in the months ahead.

The support follows a number of initiatives designed to help British pig farmers and boost the amount of British pork in Tesco stores. Measures include:

• Adding more fresh British pork products in store - five lines have been moved to British supply in recent weeks

• Introducing an additional 15 pork promotions in store for customers since January

• Launching an 'I Love British' brand in the bacon range, with a ham product launching later this month. As part of the brand, a 5p per pack contribution will be passed onto farmers in the supply chain

• The continued growth of Tesco's Finest range of pork products, including pork, sausage, bacon and cooked meat products, which are all RSPCA Assured and Red Tractor certified.

• A 30 per cent overall increase in British pork products compared to last year

In the longer term, Tesco has committed to reviewing pricing on a more frequent basis, providing more flexibility for farmers when market prices change. It will also work with UK suppliers to build a closer relationship with farmers, increase transparency in pig supply chains and ensure they are sustainable for the long term.

Dominic Morrey, Tesco fresh commercial director, said: "We fully recognise the seriousness of the situation UK pig farmers are facing and have been working closely with our suppliers to understand what more we can do to support the sector. On top of the increased volume of British pork we're now offering our customers, we will be increasing payments to British pig farmers by £10 million through to August this year.

"We know there is more to do, and we will be working with suppliers, farmers and the wider industry to drive more transparency and sustainability across our supply chains and support the future of the British pig industry."

Jim Brisby, chief commercial officer for Tesco pork supplier, Cranswick, said: "We've been working with Tesco to find a more sustainable way of paying our farmers for pigs, and we are pleased with the progress we have made to increase the availability of British pork to Tesco shoppers, and are continuing to work with the team to significantly increase these volumes even further over the next few months."