Just a few years ago, with a blockbuster initial public offering from Beyond Meat Inc and the unveiling of an Impossible Whopper at Burger King locations in the US, plant-based meats were ascendant.

Now, after once enjoying double-digit growth, sales in the plant-based meat category are not just flat, but declining, data from Information Resources Inc (IRI) showed.

That is due to possible saturation of the US market as new brands hit the shelves, Deloitte Consulting LLP said.

Sales of refrigerated meat alternatives at retailers are down 10.5 percent by volume for the 52 weeks ended on Sept. 4, IRI data show.

While higher prices are the top reason for the slide, it is not the only one, said Jonna Parker, a fresh food specialist at the market research company.

“Proteins that were cheaper on a price-per-pound basis did fare better,” Parker said, noting that semi-vegetarian shoppers that may have opted for an alt-product will now just go for the less expensive real thing. With inflation, consumers have become less willing to pay a premium for faux meat. Taste and health concerns are also playing a role, she said.

Deloitte believes the industry is suffering from a perception problem. In July, it surveyed 2,000 consumers and found a decline in the belief that plant-based meat is healthier and more environmentally sustainable than meat from animals.

Deloitte also suspects that the addressable market might be more limited than previously thought with a growing cultural resistance to its “woke” status — even among those seeking to reduce red meat consumption.

 

Bloomberg

COPENHAGEN, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest pork producer, Danish Crown, said on Thursday it would cut 350 jobs at two factories in Denmark as a result of declining supplies from farmers hit by rising energy and feed prices.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in record high prices farmers pay for energy and feed for the pigs, Danish Crown said.

“Payments to the farmers have not kept up at the same pace, and therefore the supply of slaughter pigs to Danish Crown has fallen noticeably over the past months,” the company said in a statement.

Over the last two years, Danish Crown has almost constantly had more pigs ready for slaughter than its factories could handle.

“Now the picture looks completely different,” it said.

 

Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Kirsten Donovan / Reuters

Consumers and retailers must back British as the long-running pig sector crisis continues to take its toll on farms across the country, the National Pig Association (NPA) has said.

The body today (13 September) warned that there could be a reduced choice of favourite British pork products over the Christmas festive period ‘unless things change rapidly’.

Recent figures from AHDB showed pig producers lost, on average, an unsustainable £52/pig in the second quarter of this year, following losses of £59/pig in Q1.

After seven successive quarters of negative margins, producers have lost, collectively, £600 million since the autumn of 2020, AHDB estimates.

The financial woes are continuing through this quarter, the NPA warned, as rising pig prices have failed to keep pace with soaring feed and energy costs.

Meanwhile, Defra’s June Agricultural census showed a massive 17% reduction in the English pig breeding herd, which industry data suggests is mirrored on a UK-wide basis.

The situation has also been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to increased input costs, including feed, fuel, energy, and fertiliser.

 

Responding to the threats, NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said shortages of pork products at Christmas would leave the supply chain more reliant on EU imports.

 

“Pork is still very competitively priced and so provides excellent value for money when budgets are increasingly being squeezed.”

by Farming UK

Hard-pressed farming businesses are to be included in new measures to address soaring energy costs, but calls have been made for the government to go further and deem food production as ‘vulnerable’.

Businesses will get help with surging energy bills, with prices capped for six months, a smaller period of protection than many had asked for.

The support, announced by the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, will be made available for businesses in England, Wales and Scotland, with equivalent assistance for Northern Ireland.

The scheme will be in place for six months and will be reviewed in three month’s time “to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support”.

When the review comes, farming and agri-food businesses must be considered as ‘vulnerable’, NFU Scotland has said, with an extended energy cost cap going beyond the proposed six months.

The union’s survey on electricity prices closed this week after 110 farming businesses shared their details on their rates and tariffs.

From a business perspective, nine out of ten farmers who replied were previously paying less than 20p per kWh for their electricity and are now having to deal with renewal rates and quotes coming in at up to 92p per kWh.

For some businesses, that has increased bill by tens of thousands, threatening their livelihoods.

 

By Farming UK

 

Weak demand on the domestic market continues to apply a brake to the UK pork market, although rising EU prices are providing a glimmer of hope. 

“Trade seems to be reflective between last week and this coming week with signs of little change regarding demand being still less than brisk, Thames Valley Cambac said in its latest market update.

“Perhaps as the week unfolds ahead of a short week to mark the funeral of our Queen, any additional demand might encourage buyers to stock up on and support British at a time of great reflection across the country. We certainly need to see demand for available products improve in Q4.”

Prices continue a ‘slow but forward trajectory’, with the SPP lifting 1.13p, the biggest weekly jump in just over a month, and after sticking for one week the German market stepped up another 5 cents to €2.10/kg. In the UK, most Q prices are over the £2.00/kg mark, which is very welcoming.

Many operators in the EU’s agri-food sector are struggling to maintain business in the face of rapidly rising input costs and extreme weather events, according to agri-food chain associations Copa-Cogeca, the Primary Food Processors (PFP) and FoodDrinkEurope.

In a statement, the associations said a combination of problems meant more and more companies in the EU agri-food chain are struggling to maintain their operations, with some companies faced with the choice of stopping production, laying off staff or going out of business.

“Over the past year, the European agri-food sector’s production costs have increased dramatically,” said the organisations’ statement. “Natural gas, electricity, fertilisers, transport fuel, packaging and external labour have all risen.

Cost increases were initially due to a post-Covid rebound in demand and supply chain constraints, but they have been severely exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These cost and inflationary pressures come in a context of extreme weather events – droughts, storms and frosts – that have already caused major impacts on the farming community and agri-food businesses.”

The latest increases in energy prices, especially natural gas and electricity, threaten the continuity of agri-food production cycles and therefore the ability to continue delivering essential agricultural commodities, food ingredient and products, and feed materials.

 

By Chloe Ryan / Poultry News

Shoppers looking for British pigs in blankets and locally reared gammon to serve this Christmas may be forced to buy EU meat instead, the industry has warned.

Supermarkets will be stocking less British meat this winter, after higher feed prices forced farmers to rear fewer animals.

The shortfall will show up over Christmas, which is traditionally the busiest period for pork demand, as people stock up on gammons, pigs in blankets and stuffing for the festive period.

Official estimates suggest there has been a significant drop-off in Britain’s breeding pig herd, down by almost 20pc on last year by June. The numbers are expected to have fallen even further since, as farmers face spiralling costs in energy and animal feed.

Lizzie Wilson, chief executive of the National Pig Association, warned that this meant there was “a hole in supply coming”, meaning shoppers were likely to see less choice for British cuts on supermarket shelves.

“Up until this point, retailers have been really good at buying British pork,” she said. “However, they can’t ignore the fact that EU imported pig meat is significantly cheaper than British.”

The UK is already importing more pig meat from Spain and Belgium as the cost of domestic supply climbs, Ms Wilson warned.

With fewer pigs coming through the system and the sow herd at the smallest it has been in 20 years, “we are definitely going to see less British pork available”, Ms Wilson added.

 

By Hannah Boland / The Telegraph

 

Leading pork processor Pilgrim’s UK is planning to close two sites, at Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, and Coalville, in Leicestershire, and reduce production at its Ashton site, resulting in the potential loss of nearly 700 jobs. 

The existing operations at the two plants will transfer to the company’s sites at Corsham, Kings Lynn, Linton and Andover. The processor is also planning to cut production at its Ashton plant, in Manchester, to a four-day week.

The changes will affect around 290 employees at Bury St Edmunds, 350 at Coalville and 35 at Ashton, putting them at risk of redundancy.

The move has been announced after the company’s latest Annual Report and Accounts revealed it recorded an operating loss of £16 million in 2021, on the back of the challenges facing the pig sector.

“Over the last 18 months, the UK pig sector has faced the most challenging time in its history due to a combination of significant increases in production costs, falling pig prices across Europe and the UK, a decline in demand, labour shortages and the restrictions on the ability to export from some sites into key overseas markets,” the company said.

Pilgrim’s said the proposed plant closures were part of a business recovery plan put in place across its UK operations.

Rachel Baldwin, vice president of HR for Pilgrim’s UK, said: “The decision to propose the closure of our Coalville and Bury St Edmunds sites and put a number of roles at risk at Ashton has not been taken lightly, but is unfortunately essential to help our business recover and secure a sustainable future for all of our team members across the UK.

“Clearly, this announcement will have major implications, not just for our sites, but the local communities surrounding them. We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of these proposals and work closely with local authorities and agencies to support our team members through what we know will be an extremely difficult period.”

 

By Alistair Driver / Pig World

 

The English pig breeding herd has contracted by 18% in the space of a year, as the devastating impact of the pig industry crisis takes its toll, Defra’s June Agricultural survey reveals.

The figures, which are reinforced by the latest UK-wide data released by AgroVision, show the female breeding herd in England was down to below 261,000 in June, compared with 313,000 in June 2021, confirming the loss of more than 50,000 sows and gilts.

This was the lowest breeding herd figure in the past 20 years, with large decreases seen across all categories, with a 28% decline in gilt numbers, and proportionally lower drops in in-pig sows (-14%), and dry sows (-18%). ‘Other breeding pigs’, including boars, also saw a decrease in 2022, falling by 24% from 90,000 to 68,000.

The contraction of the breeding herd is not reflected in overall pig numbers in the June survey – the overall English pig herd decreased by 3% over the year to just over 4.1 million animals, with fattening pig numbers, accounting for 92% of the total, down just 1.4% to 3.8, over the 12 months. This figure is still higher than in some recent years.

This likely reflects the fact that much of the breeding herd decline has happened since the spring and was therefore not yet reflected in fattening pig numbers coming through in June.

AgroVision’s latest anonymised pig herd data does give some insight into the shortfall in production that is coming.

Representing about 60% of the national pig herd, the UK-wide AgroVision figures reinforce the trends highlighted in the Defra data for England, showing the number of sows recorded has fallen from 181,000 in July 2021 to just under 150,000 in July 2022, a 17% decline.

Unsurprisingly, the number of herds recorded continues to fall – the July 2022 figure of 191 herds compared with 240 a year earlier.

The number of services recorded in July, just short of 29,000, compared with 37,700 a year earlier, a 23% decline. The more reliable three-month rolling average records a similar decline.

 

By Alistair Driver / Pig World

The Far East has remained an important destination for UK red meat exports during the first half of the year, adding significant value to the UK red meat sector.

According to the latest data from HMRC, despite an easing of shipments due to a number of challenges on the market, China remains the largest importer of pig meat from the UK, with exports valued at nearly £88 million so far this year.

From January to June, more than half of the 108,294 tonnes of pig meat exported to non-EU countries, was imported by China, followed by the Philippines – which has become the world’s third largest importer of pork from the UK.

Shipments to the Philippines were valued at £25.9 million in the first six months of the year – up 14.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. AHDB led the first commercial mission to the Philippines in May, hosting nine UK exporters in Manilla to facilitate the all-important business to business meetings with leading importers.

And Japan is becoming a valuable export market for the UK’s red meat sector, with shipments of both pig meat and beef significantly up on last year.

After securing market access for beef in 2019, shipments have been steadily increasing, with £9.2 million worth exported in the first six months of 2022 – up from £2.8 million. Pig meat shipments have also increased, with exports worth almost £3.2 million.

AHDB Head of Exports Jonathan Eckley said: “Asian markets continue to prove a hugely valuable market for the UK’s red meat sector, despite many challenges on the global stage this year. While volumes to some countries may be quite low, these markets are vital in addressing the issue of carcase balance and utilising cuts that are less popular here in the UK but attract significant value in the Far East.

 

 

AHDB