China is expected to increase its pork imports in the coming months, as its pig herd is hit by the knock-on effect of industry losses suffered last year.

The reduction in pig output in China appears to be larger than official data suggests, industry experts claim. Surging pork prices have driven up inflation in the world’s second-largest economy, which produces about half of the world’s pork, at a time of slowing growth, according to a report by Reuters.

Chinese pork prices rose in October by more than 50% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Pork prices are predicted stay high in 2023 because of the lower supply, according to 10 industry analysts, farmers, and feed and genetics suppliers, although they cautioned demand may be impacted by China’s COVID measures.

Falling pork demand and high feed costs from June 2021 until July this year caused farmers to incur losses of as much as 600 yuan per hog, according to the report. Farmers sold off herds, culled more sows than normal or slowed production by not mating females to curb their losses.

The government has blamed farmers holding pigs back from slaughter to fatten them up more for the higher prices, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has repeatedly said breeding capacity is sufficient.

 

Alistair Driver  / Pig World

A new £100m bacon factory planned to open in Greater Manchester next year is set to create 300 jobs.

Global food company Danish Crown has revealed plans to open a pork processing plant in Rochdale in 2023.

The facility will produce over 900 tonnes of bacon and gammon a week and will be 100% powered by renewable energy, the company said.

Danish Crown CEO Jais Valeur said the move was “the next step” in the company’s commitment to the UK market.

“Danish Crown has a long heritage in the UK, bringing British consumers high quality bacon and pork products for over 135 years,” he said.

“This investment forms the next step in our commitment to the UK market, bringing our customers a reliable, transparent supply of high-quality bacon to help meet demand, produced to high sustainability and welfare standards.”

The 30,500sq m (328,300sq ft) processing facility will be Danish Crown’s first new UK factory for three years and will form part of the company’s wider strategy to deliver climate neutral meat products by 2050.

“The future of meat will be based on high quality products that are as sustainable as possible,” Mr Valeur added.

“We know this is an ambition shared by many of our customers in the UK and with this new factory, we look forward to working more closely with them towards a more sustainable future for food production.”

Former Defra Secretary George Eustice has launched a blistering attack on former Prime Minister and International  Trade Secretary Liz Truss over her handling of the Australian trade deal.

The deal included giving Australia or New Zealand full access to the UK market to the beef and sheep market, albeit phased in over 15 years. Yet Australia still bans the import of British beef and there was virtually nothing in return for UK farmers. The Government estimated the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, signed on 17 December 2021, would unlock £10.4bn of additional trade while ending tariffs on all UK exports to Australia.

While pork was not a part of the deal, with Australia not being significant exporters, the fear within the pig industry was that could set a dangerous precedent in future trade deals.

Mr Eustice, who was sacked by Mrs Truss when she became Prime Minister, told a Commons debate that it was a bad deal for the UK, especially its farmers, and stressed that lessons need to be learned as the UK negotiates future deals.

“Unless we recognise the failures that the Department for International Trade made during the Australia negotiations, we won’t be able to learn the lessons of future negotiations,” he said.

“The first step is to recognise that the Australia trade deal is not actually a very good deal for the UK.”

 

by Alistair Driver / Pig World

 

By Amy Phipps / BBC

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

 

 

BBC

Lamb supplies remain tight as inflation will play a major role in the supply of lamb onto the market, as well as impacting consumer demand.

Sheep prices were declining following seasonal trends in October.

According to AHDB, the average GB liveweight SQQ for the week ending October 26 was 223.19p/kg, 4.7p lower than the average price for the week ending September 28. Prices have also dipped below where they stood this time last year, down 16.5p/kg, but still sit above the five-year average by almost 35p/kg.

Conditions in the lamb market remain unsteady, as external pressures impact on consumer demand, export trends and lamb supply, according to the latest analysis from Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).

HCC data analyst Glesni Phillips said the lamb sector had been under pressure due to rising input costs, global trade impacts from the war in Ukraine and inflationary pressures on consumers.

“This has influenced liveweight prices at auction markets, which have fluctuated in recent weeks, while current throughput at abattoirs is below what we would expect for this time of year, suggesting a short-term increase in supply as the year end approaches,” she said.

 

by Alex Black / 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

British poultry producers will be able to slaughter Christmas turkeys early, freeze and then defrost them but still sell the meat as fresh as the country deals with its worst ever bird flu outbreak, the country’s farm ministry announced on Friday.

Retailers and suppliers had been calling on the government to make such a move as they look to kill turkeys early to avoid the further spread of the virus through the poultry sector, a report in the industry magazine the Grocer said last week.

Britain has faced its largest ever outbreak of avian flu with 200 confirmed cases in the last 12 months, leading to the culling of millions of birds.

“The measures mean that farmers who breed turkeys, geese or ducks for their meat will have the option to slaughter their flocks early and to freeze these products, which can then be defrosted and sold to consumers between the period 28 November and 31 December 2022,” the ministry said in a statement.

Farmers will also now be paid compensation from the outset of a planned cull rather than at the end, the ministry said.

Reuters