Edition Bobbett1. Texts by Elizabeth F. Bobbett: 1.1.3. Correspondence, Letters to newspapers
1947 Elizabeth Bobbett: Letter to the Munster Express, 20.06.1947
Wicklow Lady’s Appreciation Of Councillor T. Lynch’s Speech On Bacon Industry
Miss Elizabeth Bobbett, General Secretary, Irish Farmers’ Federation, Wicklow, writes: Mr. T. Lynch, TC, is to be congratulated on his statement before the Waterford Chamber of Commerce relative to the crisis in the pigs and bacon industry, when he said “it was due to the fact that the Pigs and Bacon Commission and the Pigs and Marketing Board had never at any time considered the producer or the cost of production.”
This is the major point, because producers cannot continue to produce at a loss, and everyone knows the farmers’ costs of production have risen constantly and considerably during the past few years. Still, I feel that the bacon factories have a large amount of responsibility for the shortage of bacon at the moment.
While farmers are accused of selling their pigs in the black market to pork butchers, it would be interesting to know how many bacon factories were now engaged in killing pigs and selling them as pork to pork butchers instead of converting them into bacon; perhaps this is one of the reasons why some bacon factories cannot supply their consumers with their quota of bacon.
Another point that might throw some light on the matter is the profits derived from the manufacture and sales of sausages.
As a producer and a consumer, I think it is strange to see the finest of pork pigs chopped up for sausages while customers are refused even a pork chop. Of course, the farmer is blamed for demanding high prices; but I happened to call into a pork shop in the vicinity of Dublin a little while ago, and purchased a piece of streaky pork commonly called “belly pork”. (Living in a country district I had been unable to get a rasher for weeks). I asked how much a pound was the belly pork and was told 2/8 – that they had to pay any price that was asked for pigs now they were so scarce. Of course, the assistant thought I was a townie. I replied: “That is strange, as in my part of the country we have almost to beg the butchers to come out and buy our pigs.” That very week the agent for one of the Bacon factories who buys pigs by weight about eight miles from me, had told me he could not buy pigs under 16 stones weight. Up to this, it was pigs between 8 stones and 16 stones that were wanted.
In conclusion, I wish to state that unless farmers are assured of an economic price based on the cost of production and a long term agreement, I see little hope for increased pig production. Let us hope that commonsense will prevail over the “fictitious money” values. Not so many years ago our farmers were denied an economic price for their sugar beet crop, as it would have meant raising the price of sugar from 2½d to 3d a lb; but we had as much as we wanted then. Now the price of sugar is 6d, and we are rationed to ¼ lb. Let it not be the same with bacon.