Pork prices have collapsed following a Russian ban on EU food imports.
Around 100 local pig farmers received €240,000 in assistance today, as a glut in European pork supplies caused by Russian sanctions bites into their income, said the Times of Malta.
The government had decided to match €120,000 in EU emergency assistance funds with a further €120,000, Agriculture parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes said today. 95 pig farmers had applied for the funds and all were found to be eligible.
Russia has banned European food imports in response to western sanctions put into place following the Crimean crisis. The ban has cut European pig farmers off from their biggest market, resulting in an oversupply of pork and collapsing prices for the meat across the EU.
Between January and September 2015, local pig farmers slaughtered or exported over 44,000 pigs.