More than 200 jobs are to be axed at a bacon-slicing plant in Northern Ireland.

The Malton Foods factory in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, is to close in early April.

Management of the company, formerly known as Unipork, said it had no alternative but to shut the factory, and blamed increased competitiveness in the retail market.

Malton Foods managing director Mr Max Hilliard said: "It has been a difficult decision to take and we are very mindful of the effect this will have on the people who work there and their families. But we will do all we can to help them find alternative work."

Local politicians have expressed deep concern at the closure. The Rev Ian Paisley, who is the chairman of the Northern Assembly's agriculture and rural development committee, said the agriculture industry could ill afford job losses at this crucial time and in such numbers. "My committee is making representations to the firm about this outcome of the review of their operations in Northern Ireland. It is important to ensure that the remaining factories are not placed under a similar threat," he said.

The SDLP MLA for the affected area, Mr Tommy Gallagher, described the closure as a "total disaster for the local economy".

"Many of the employees who have lost their jobs have given a lifetime's service to this company . . . Already the rate of unemployment here is unacceptably high. Because of ongoing currency difficulties, the economy in this area has already experienced severe difficulties and immediate intervention is needed.

"I intend to meet with the First and Deputy First Ministers, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Industrial Development Board as early as possible to discuss the situation," Mr Gallagher added. The company's other factories, at Cookstown in Co Tyrone and Ahoghill, Co Antrim, will not be directly affected by the shutdown, according to a company spokesman.

The Enniskillen factory has been open since 1966.

Malton Foods is the UK's leading pig meat processor, with sales of £600 million sterling (€982 million) a year. It employs 7,600 and exports to more than 30 countries.