Convenience retailer Co-op has called on other leading supermarkets to back UK pig farmers by selling more British produced pork. Pig farmers have been struggling since before the pandemic and around 60 per cent of the pork consumed in the UK is imported.

Now more retailers have pledged extra help for to support desperate farmers with additional payments – including Co-op which has pledged £19 million – but the retailer has said “it’s too little but not too late to go further.” Co-op has invested the cash to boost its support for British pig farmers by introducing a new pricing model designed to help manage rising production costs.

The Co-op removed imported bacon from its stores five years ago to move to 100 per cent British pork, from chops to bacon and ham. Matt Hood, of Co-op Food, said: “Some of the support for the sector is too little but it’s not too late for supermarkets to do their bit to help more British farmers.

“Switching to UK produced pork is the strongest commitment retailers can give to UK farmers at a time when the sector is experiencing unprecedented spiralling costs. Pig farmers have been facing historically high feed costs even before Christmas, which has now been exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.

“As a result, many UK farmers are suffering significant losses, and some tragically have been forced to close their farms. Co-op is a longstanding and leading supporter of British farming and our new pricing model will see us go even further.

by Brett Gibson / Bristol Post

UK exports of beef are up nearly 50 percent compared to the same period a year ago, new figures from HMRC show.

The UK exported 12,600 tonnes of fresh and frozen beef in March, up 14% from February and up 46% compared to the same month a year ago.

While significantly higher year-on-year, the volume was closer to the amount exported in 2019 and 2020.

This meant that the UK shipped 30,800 tonnes of beef during the first quarter of the year, 53% more than the volume shipped during the same period a year ago.

Within this, 9,000 tonnes were sent to Ireland, 7,000 tonnes to France and 5,600 tonnes to the Netherlands.

by Farming UK

In the week ending 4 May, liveweight sheep prices lost some ground gained in previous weeks, with nearly all grades losing value apart from heavier spring lambs.

The OSL SQQ averaged 271.1p/kg, down nearly 8p from the previous week, while the NSL SQQ lost nearly 6p to average 330.3p/kg.

The price drop potentially reflects the end of Ramadan at the weekend, with most buying being done before the latest week.

An estimated 104,000 lambs (both OSL and NSL) were sold through GB marts during the shorter bank holiday week, down 22% from the previous longer week, but 4% higher than the same week a year ago.

About now, we will begin to see OSL numbers fall away and replaced by new season stock. 18% of throughputs in the week ending 4 May were new season lambs.

In the deadweight market, prices rose during the week ending 30 April. The GB OSL SQQ averaged 605.9p/kg, up 8p from the week before. The NSL SQQ averaged 655.0p/kg, up nearly 7p.

Estimated slaughter of clean sheep stood at 216,300 head, up 10% from the previous week (which included Easter Monday).

by Hannah Clarke /AHDB

Waitrose has announced a further support package for its British pork farmers worth up to £16m to ensure prices paid for pigs to cover producers’ soaring costs of production. 

The retailer said the move means it will cover the full cost of rearing and producing pigs – including labour, feed, and fuel – offering its farmers financial security when others are being forced out of the sector. It stressed that the commitment ‘will not detract from our promise to provide great value for customers or our pledge to always maintain our leading welfare standards’.

Waitrose’s executive director, James Bailey, said: “Farmers are the backbone of Britain, keeping food on our tables during our country’s hour of need through a pandemic. But now, they need our help.

“This investment is a direct response to some of the most challenging conditions the pig sector has ever faced. This is not only the right thing to do, it will ensure we continue to pay our farmers a fair price while maintaining our quality and high welfare standards.

“My hope is that this will enable us to keep working with them for decades to come, but we can’t do it alone. This issue is industry-wide and we need the entire food industry and the British public to get behind us. If we don’t stand united in supporting UK pork farmers and act soon, many businesses will be lost.”

by Alistair Driver / Pig World

A family-run meat supplier in Preston is looking to expand its premises due to the “underlaying pressure upon the meat processing industry”.

Bowland Food’s Ltd is a meat-cutting plant where chilled animal carcasses are readied for further cutting and processing. The site does not encompass any activity associated with the slaughter of animals but the company does provide products to a range of customers across the north and midlands.

Situated on Roman Way Industrial Estate in Preston, the family-run factory has been at this location since 2004. For nearly two decades, the business has grown “rapidly” and now owners have submitted plans to the extend their current site in the industrial estate to meet growing demand and pressures.

Bowland Food’s application states the business is now operating at maximum capacity meaning the company needs to extend the existing factory. By doing so, the owners hope they can remain at their established site instead of being forced to relocate to alternative premises.

It sates: “Officers may be aware of the underlaying pressure upon the meat processing industry due to worker and facility shortages across the country with meat being exported for processing to serve the UK market. The proposals seek to address this issue with enhanced facilities at this site benefitting the sector economically and in terms of reducing food miles.”

By Fatima Aziz / Lancs Live

BEIJING: China imported 592,000 tonnes of meat in April, down 35.7 per cent from the same month a year earlier, customs data showed on Monday (May 9), as a surge in domestic pork output curbed appetite for shipments from abroad.

Imports have also been impacted by strained logistics caused by an extended COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai.

Meat imports for the first four months of the year were down 36 per cent on a year before at 2.26 million tonnes, according to the data, released by the General Administration of Customs.

Demand for imported pork has slumped this year after Chinese hog farmers increased breeding to compensate for losses caused by African swine fever in recent years.

The surge in supply has come as demand has suffered from closure of restaurants across the country to contain China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years.

Source: Reuters

SAO PAULO, April 20 (Reuters) – Brazil’s ABPA, a lobby group representing large pork and chicken processors said on Wednesday its member companies are facing difficulties shipping products through the Port of Shanghai.

The statement, sent in response to a question from Reuters about the effects of the COVID lockdown in the Chinese city, said cargoes are being redirected to other ports, such as Yantian.

“There are no reports of suspension of sales,” the statement said, referring to rumours about potential contract cancellations. “At the same time, ABPA member companies hope that the situation in Shanghai will soon return to normal.”

Strict lockdown measures after a COVID-19 outbreak began in March, affecting 25 million Shanghai residents, hampering businesses and the circulation of goods.

After the lockdown was imposed, containers of frozen food began backing up at the port, with inspections for incoming meat halted.

By Ana Mano / Reuters

BEIJING, May 2 (Reuters) – The protracted lockdown in Shanghai, China’s financial hub, is slowing the nation’s normally booming meat trade, with stringent COVID-19 measures causing logistics logjams across the food industry in a sign of the broadening disruptions to business.

The challenge of moving food in and around Shanghai, whose residents are into a month-long stressful home isolation, highlights similar problems in many other Chinese cities as Beijing persists with its controversial zero-COVID strategy despite growing risks to its economy.

• China is world’s top meat importer
• Largest share of meat imports arrive at Shanghai port
• Product stuck at port with few drivers, trucks to take delivery
• Buyers across China impacted by strained logistics

China is the world’s biggest buyer of meat, bringing in more than 9 million tonnes last year, worth about $32 billion, and the financial hub with a thriving dining scene accounts for the largest chunk of imports.

Traders rely on Shanghai’s ideal location for distributing product around the country, but since an outbreak of COVID-19 cases forced a lockdown in the city at the end of March, moving chilled or frozen products has become a costly headache.

An Eastern European agricultural organisation has issued a plea to farmers and agricultural companies across Europe to help get aid to Ukraine, where Russian troops have stepped up attacks on the farming sector.

Maksym Kryvonis, executive director of the Eastern European Agricultural Alliance (EEAA), which is based in Warsaw but has members across 10 countries in the region including Ukraine, told Farmers Guardian that Russia was now targeting agricultural production to weaken the country’s food security.

“The biggest problem right now is where Russian troops are –  some fields have mines, and there are already cases of farmers killed by mines because they cannot identity them,” aid Mr Kryvonis. “But farmers are so brave that they are [continuing to do] their usual activities [sowing their crops].

Whole farming businesses have also been targeted, including a dairy farm in the Chernihiv region where almost all the cattle were killed, added Mr Kryvonis.

“The farm is totally destroyed. Russian soldiers simply shot the cows. It is difficult to analyse why, it’s a question for psychologists. The cows were desperate. This was one case shown in the media but there are a lot of cases of farms destroyed,” he said.

by Farmers Guardian

The European (EU) average beef price has now surpassed that of the UK’s, while Irish price remains well behind, according to data from Bord Bia.

The Irish food board’s cattle price dashboard’s most recent data from April 2, shows that Irish beef price is running 40c/kg behind the average EU beef price.

The data uses the average price paid for R3-grade prime male cattle, which is the steer price in Ireland and the UK, and the young bull price in mainland Europe. The price quoted is in €/kg deadweight excluding VAT.

Commenting on the trends, Bord Bia’s Great Britain meat market specialist, Emmet Doyle said: “Tight beef supplies across northern Europe, especially Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, have seen the EU R3 young-bull price increasing week on week.

“The EU market is highly competitive as European processors and consolidators are looking to meet their customer contracts, especially for forequarter beef which is used for mince and burgers”

The last time EU beef price surpassed the UK beef price was from September 2010 until April 2011.

by Breifne O’Brien / Agriland