Farmers immediately welcomed the investigation, which will investigate why the industry is struggling so much and what supermarkets and the Government can do to help.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee will examine whether high pig welfare standards in the UK are making it difficult for farmers to compete with overseas competitors, and whether the problems are more than simply cyclical.

Committee chairman Michael Jack said the short inquiry – which is likely to produce a report after two hearings in the autumn – was being launched after representations from the industry.

"The industry has had a lot of problems, and we felt a short, focused, inquiry would be able to see if there was anything further that can be done," he told the Yorkshire Post.

Soaring fuel and feed costs are taking their toll on the industry despite the price of pork rising.

Farmers have been urging shops and shoppers to bite the bullet and pay more for British pork to support the industry.

Earlier this year the British Pig Executive (BPEX), a Government-industry body chaired by Yorkshire farmer Stewart Houston, calculated losses were running at £6 a second.

British demand for pork already exceeds domestic supply, but overseas countries often have low welfare standards with some farmers even in European Union countries still tethering pigs to restrict movement, which is illegal in this country.

The inquiry will examine four areas: What is wrong with the industry and whether the problems are cyclical or more entrenched; whether welfare standards hamper UK farmers; how supermarkets and the hospitality industry could ease pressures on the industry; and whether the Government could do more to help.

Mr Houston, who is also spokesman for the National Pig Association, said the inquiry was excellent news. He called for recognition of industry efforts to tackle disease and said there should be more transparency in the food chain about who is benefiting from rising prices because it had not all passed down to farmers. The industry was extremely fragile, he said.