A MALDON district pork producer has spoken of his fears over the impact on the farming community if cheap US meat imports are allowed to flood the market.

Wicks Manor owner Fergus Howie is cautious over government promises to stick with UK standards on farm animal welfare.

He said: "The big problem is if they go for a cheap food agenda."

Mr Howie, whose Tolleshunt Major business is famed for producing high quality local pork products, added: "Farmers in the UK haven't had a level playing field for decades. An example is the use of stalls and tethers for pigs in gestation.

These were banned in the UK, but it was 2013 before the EU had the same rules and four countries remained non-compliant after that. The problem is that UK governments don't have a very good track record in keeping promises on this issue."

Meat production standards and farm animal welfare

He explained how one of the significant issues is that a drug banned from use in UK pork production - Ractopamine - is commonly used to speed and increase growth in US pig farms. Importing American-produced pork and pork products will mean lower prices paid to UK meat farmers.

There are also issues over pig castration, as any farmer carrying out the practice in the UK cannot claim 'Red Tractor' quality assured status. In the US, castration is common and often carried out without pain relief.

More than 20 per cent of UK pork and chicken production is based in the East of England and both meats will potentially be affected by cheaper US imports.

Wicks Manor has thrived in a situation where many other UK pig farmers have not and Mr Howie, who is also the vice chair of governors at Writtle University College, attributes his success to ensuring a "quality not quantity" approach.

However, his fears for UK farmers competing on the international market are stark.

He said: "The US is very keen on exporting pork to this country, but the negotiations need to be very carefully handled. For much of the pig farming community in the UK this could be the last nail in the coffin."

His comments come a week after the RSPCA revealed a new video claiming to expose the realities of American farm animal welfare. The charity is calling on the government to keep its manifesto commitment and ban imports of meat products made to much lower animal welfare standards.