AHDB conference explores pork industry’s challenges
AHDB organised and held a two-day conference in partnership with Pig World, which looked at the global picture of the sector, as well as how the industry could benefit from innovation in areas such as animal health and welfare, hygiene and pig buildings.
‘Pigs 2022: The Opportunities’ was organised by AHDB Pork in partnership with Pig World.
‘Pigs 2022: The Opportunities’ hosted speakers from the UK, Danish and US pig industries, along with more than 200 delegates on the first day.
Among the key messages addressed during the conference was that opportunities exist in the Far East and that the UK pig sector could benefit from them.
Director of international food consultancy GIRA, Richard Brown, highlighted the importance of China, as it currently accounts for 27% of worldwide pig trade, pointing that there was a rise in meat consumption worldwide.
With regards to Brexit, producers also heard that the pig sector was less vulnerable to the effects of the UK’s exit from the EU compared to other sectors, as the industry is already trading with key regions that are seeing significant growth.
Looking to the US, vice president of the National Pork Producers Council in America, Nicholas Giordano, discussed the expanding pig industry in the United States, which currently has around 60,000 producers.
Giordano said that the US is also targeting Asia, where middle class society is set to double during the next 15 years, offering significant opportunities for the pork sector.
AHDB Pork chairman, Mike Sheldon, commented: “A priority for us all is to understand what our competitors are doing, where they are innovating, where they are investing and what technologies they are adopting.
“This is about making sure that none of our competitors is successful in trying to eat our lunch; it’s about making sure we take advantage of the latest thinking, wherever it originates.”
Other speakers included Adam Crouch, of Cranswick Country Foods, who examined the future of the British pork industry, highlighting Brexit as the biggest challenge, while there was also a presentation from McDonald’s director, Connor McVeigh, who told delegates that bacon was one of their customers’ favourite products.
Elsewhere, Professor Patrick Wall of University College Dublin gave a talk on the challenges of responding to consumers’ demands in a global market place.
In addition, Richard Williamson of Beeswax Farming discussed how they were planning for the future.
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