Manx National Farmers Union issues statement in response to audit report

Manx farmers have “consistently raised concerns” about the Island’s Meat Plant over the past few years.

That’s according to the Manx National Farmers Union, which has released a statement regarding a recent audit done of the plant.

In it, the union says it welcomes “the DEFA Minister’s commitment to rectifying the problems” at the plant.

The environment, food and agriculture minister will face questions in Tynwald today regarding the future of the business.

MNFU president Ean Parsons says persistent issues place financial pressure on the industry, which in turn affects farmers’ mental health.

He added that the many issues outlined in the report need to be sorted, to help rectify a cash shortage within the industry.

The MNFU’s statement in full states: “As the Manx National Farmers Union, we welcome the DEFA Minister’s commitment to rectifying the problems of the Meat Plant and believe that it is crucial that this commitment is carried out in its entirety. The Meat Plant is essential on the Isle of Man both for our food security and for the farming industry to have a route to market for their produce. 

“Three years ago, the Manx National Farmers Union were told by the then Chairman that ‘operational issues of the Meat Plant were none of your concern’. Since then, we have solely concentrated on the producer’s ability to get stock into the Plant and receive an equivalent payment level to UK producers.

During the last three years, we have consistently raised concerns with both the Plant Management team, Directors, and DEFA about the long lead-in times for producers to sell stock, especially during the autumn-winter period. At present, if a producer offers cattle into the Plant this week, they will not receive payment for those animals until February 2023. This is totally unacceptable and has created a cashflow crisis within the industry.

The pricing structure based on the AHDB is essential for the industry, yet it is not recognised within the report that the farmer doesn’t receive this level of payment in real terms. We have around 6% (24p/kg) deducted from that price by the Plant to distribute the meat to its customers and to pay for marketing, though it clearly shows there’s been nowhere near enough of that done.

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Manx Radio

New restrictions on the import of pork meat and pork products have been introduced in Guernsey to limit the spread of African swine fever.

It has been made illegal to bring certain pork or pork products into the Bailiwick from Europe, excluding the UK.

The disease is found in Africa and Asia but recently has started spreading rapidly through areas of Europe, the States of Guernsey said.

The virus affects pigs but not humans.

It is a notifiable compulsory slaughter disease with a very high mortality rate in pigs, the government said.

David Chamberlain, States Veterinary Officer, said: “African swine fever has no effect on humans but has had a devastating impact on pigs across the world and continues to spread in Europe.

“It’s important that we do what we can to protect our local 300-plus pig population.”

He added: “We are keen to get the message out to travellers and those ordering Christmas hampers through the post, that they will not be able to import large, cured hams.”

 

BBC

Farmers are being told to expect delays for this years peak lamb kill, with the season expected to be longer due to labour shortages.

Processors have been struggling with staff shortages for the past two years due to the border closure and staff being off sick with Covid-19.

AgriHQs latest market update said staff shortages had been a major problem for some processing plants and in some cases lambs were sent back to the farm as there were not enough staff to process them all.

 

Alliance Group, which operates five meatworks in the South Island and two in the lower North Island, had not had to send lambs back, but farmers were experiencing wait times of 10 to 14 days.

General manager livestock and shareholder services Danny Hailes said plants were still processing old season lambs.

Its Lorneville plant had been undergoing maintenance, but would be up to speed next week and the Smithfield plant will ramp up quickly after a one week maintenance shutdown from 28 November, he said.

“Any backlog that we have will be cleared pretty swiftly.”

 

Lorneville would start on two chains and would be operating six by Christmas. There was a goal of getting a seventh processing chain operating in the new year subject to labour.

Staffing had slightly improved with the border reopening but it was still not straightforward to bring in workers from overseas.

“We’re doing our best to get labour in from overseas in a way that suits our seasonal ramp up, but the reality is that we won’t have the numbers of people at the time that we want.”

Farmers should have their lambs processed as soon as they’re ready, he said. “Don’t hold off any longer than you need to.”

 

Silver Fern Farms chief supply chain officer Dan Boulton expected the labour situation to be marginally better than last season.

“However that’s coming off a relatively low base and so we still expect some disruption and delay in the season ahead.

“We’ve got to acknowledge that it’s been a long and challenging few seasons for many of our site staff, and our processing volumes will also be determined by how much sustainable overtime can be achieved without impacting our staff well-being.”

 

by Sally Murphy  / RNZ

 

 

 

BBC

A UK Government decision to maintain import barriers for Brazilian meat products is holding up progress on a trade deal, according to the team of Brazil’s new president-elect, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Ministers set out plans for an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) with Brazil in February, when Bolsonaro was in power, but progress on negotiations has been slow and is not set to speed up under the new administration.

A member of Lula’s team told The Independent: “In our view, the proposals being made by the UK are unbalanced and unfair in their current form.

“They want access to the financial market, IT and education, yet there are barriers to the import of Brazilian meat products, especially beef. They seem to have EU regulations in place despite Brexit.”

Earlier this year, Farmers Guardian reported that the Brazilian Government was unhappy the UK would not lift its ban on the import of hormone-treated beef, or allow meat packers to benefit from ‘pre-listing’, where exports are approved without the need for inspection.

The EU did have a pre-listing system in place with Brazil, but it was suspended in 2017 after some of the country’s biggest meat processors, including JBS and BRF, were found to be selling rotten beef and poultry.

Farm groups across the UK have welcomed the UK Government’s position.

 

by Abi Kay / Farmers Guardian

Food Standards Agency (FSA) staff will not be striking over pay in the run up to Christmas, following a ballot of UNISON members, in what will come as a huge relief to the meat industry.

UNISON, the UK’s largest union, had warned that the dispute involving several hundred inspectors, vets, and office-based staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could result in strikes in the run up to and over Christmas leading to less meat on supermarket shelves.

Earlier in the year, FSA staff voted to reject a pay offer of between 2% and 5%. UNISON said this was significantly lower than inflation, currently 9.9%, and falls short of the 10% pay claim it put forward.

But the three-week ballot of FSA employees, which closed on Monday (October 31), fell short of the numbers required to bring about strike action.

A UNISON spokesperson said: “Staff showed strong support for taking action over their inadequate pay offer, but by the narrowest possible margin, turnout didn’t meet the legal threshold.”

 

 

by Alistair Driver / Pig World

Global pork producer Pilgrim’s UK is launching a Butchery and Abattoir Academy, to help fill the sector skills gap by developing UK-based industry talent. 

The aim of the Academy is to recruit and support the training and skills development of UK-based workers, as well as opening up new opportunities for people to develop a career in the sector.

Applications for the Academy are now open to any UK-based aspiring butcher. Through the Academy apprentices will complete an 18-month Level 2 Butchery and Abattoir apprenticeship which combines a mixture of classroom learning and on-site working, in partnership with Pilgrim UK’s training provider Bishop Burton College. Apprentices who complete Level 2 will also have the opportunity to complete a Level 3 apprenticeship, which will allow individuals to progress into supervisory roles.

Pilgrim’s UK is also supporting the Skilled Worker pipeline by recruiting overseas labour, predominantly from the Philippines where interest in butchery and manufacturing roles has been particularly high. Pilgrim’s UK’s head of butchery has played an instrumental role in recruiting the new employees from the Philippines and helping them settle into life in the UK; the number of recruits doubled between April and August.

 

by Meghan Taylor / Pig World

Cattle farmers in Botswana, one of Africa’s top beef exporters to the European Union, have welcomed renewed beef exports to Europe.

The move follows a two-month ban that followed an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and the culling of thousands of cows.

Botswana officials on Monday said the August outbreak near the border with Zimbabwe has been brought under control, although a ban on cattle from the area remains in place.

Due to tough restrictions, beef exports to the European Union had been suspended because of the outbreak in August.

But farmers like Bathusi Letlhare said they are now relieved following Monday’s announcement of the partial lifting of the ban.

“It is a welcome development because the EU is one of the main markets for our beef,” Letlhare said. “They pay good prices, and this, in turn, benefits farmers a lot. It is always bad when we have an FMD outbreak and the market has to be closed.”

Letlhare added that the frequent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have had an adverse impact on the economy.

“I can say 80 percent of households have livestock, and when FMD breaks out and certain markets are closed, it becomes a big challenge to farmers,” Letlhare said. “Farmers cannot move cattle to markets, and there is no income to farmers, and the whole economy is affected.”

 

Mqondisi Dube / Voice of America 

Weekly pig prices, slaughter data for Great Britain

The EU-spec GB SPP continued moving in the right direction in the week ended October 8, inching up by 0.18p to reach 200.55p/kg.

This is the second successive weekly increase, following the reverse in the week ended September 24 and means the SPP has risen by less than 0.6p over the past four weeks as the upward trajectory slows, and means the index is 44p on a year ago.

The APP was back up by nearly a penny, 0.9p, for the week ended October 1. At 203.57p/kg, the gap between it and the SPP was just 3.2p.

The context is, of course, that average prices remain below average costs, estimated by AHDB at 221p/kg for August.

The EU price is critical to the UK market and the large gulf between the UK and EU prices over the summer has contributed to increased volumes of pork imports. As EU prices have risen that gap has closed in recent weeks.

For the week ending October 2, the EU Reference stood at just short of 187p/kg, compared with a UK reference price of 200.7p/kg, the gap of under 14p comparing with more than 30p at some points in August. However, the rise in EU prices has stalled, with some key producers recording falls in recent weeks.

 

Pig World / AHDB

Processors blamed lacklustre retail demand for British pork for poor uptake of pigs last week, according to Thames Valley Cambac. 

TVC described the 19% year-on-year increase in pork import volumes, as highlighted in the last issue of Pig World, as ‘disappointing’, but noted that this level of imports matches pre Covid levels, while the same reporting period shows exports have increased.

“Supplies continue to tighten as producers leave the industry, but slaughter weights are creeping back up, as processors keep number allocations tight,” TVC said in its latest market update.

Price contributions stood on, and the SPP improved 0.36p to 200.37p, but pig returns are still way below cost of production and, unfortunately, industry exits continue.

Prices in Europe eased again with the Netherlands down 7 eurocents – a realignment following Germany’s fall last week. The Euro ended the week down 0.92p at 87.38p.

There was little weaner demand outside regular contract commitments, as raw materials remain volatile and uncertainty in the finished market leaves fatteners with little confidence. There was insufficient data for the AHDB to formulate any prices.

 

Alistair Driver / Pig World