All Coronavirus articles – Page 5
-
NewsScottish pork industry looks to recover from Covid-19 impact
As Scotland slowly eases its lockdown restrictions, Scotland’s pig producers have mapped out their priorities on how to reset, restart and recover from the effects of the pandemic, according to the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS).Pigs working group chairman, Jamie Wyllie.The Union says it has recognised that resetting and restarting ...
-
NewsTrade bodies call on Government to address shortage of skilled butchers
The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) and the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) are calling on Government to help keep production lines operating by adding butchers to the Shortage Occupation List which is used to vet skilled migrants.The move comes after growing concerns that the British meat processing industry ...
-
NewsWarnings of further technical concerns over Brexit
The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has issued further warnings over technical issues with Brexit which must be addressed urgently in order to avoid disruption to trade.In the second of two articles published on concerns surrounding Brexit, the BMPA has called for clarity from Government on the status of negotiations ...
-
NewsPrime sheep prices under seasonal pressure after Ramadan
The final week of May has seen prime sheep prices cool at Scottish auctions after Ramadan, according to the latest market commentary from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).Ian MacDonald, senior economics analyst with QMS.New season lambs fell by 5% to 249p/kg in the week to May 27th and old season prices ...
-
NewsScots opt for local meat during lockdown
Research by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and ScotPulse has revealed that eight out of ten Scots eat red meat at least once a week and three in four of those are happy to pay more for better quality products.The study also found that three quarters of people agreed that they ...
-
NewsIndustry discusses Covid-19 challenges at EFRA hearing
Members of the food and meat industry appeared at a recent EFRA Committee meeting to give oral evidence on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the meat industry.Nick Allen, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association.The meeting, which featured Ian Wright CBE, CEO of the Food and Drink Federation ...
-
NewsFQAS inspections to resume from June, says LMC
The Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS) Industry Board has agreed to resume inspections from 8th June 2020, conditional on strict adherence to an inspections Covid-19 protocol.LMC chief executive and FQAS Board chairman, Ian Stevenson.Speaking following the announcement, LMC chief executive and FQAS Board chairman Ian ...
-
NewsUnion calls on Defra to address inadequate workplace guidance
GMB Union has called on DEFRA to open a dialogue with food producers and unions to address, what it says is the inadequacy of the Government guidance for manufacturing and processing facilities.The call comes after three workers at a Cranswick food processing facility in Wombwell, Barnsley, which supplies UK supermarkets, ...
-
NewsMeat eating up during lockdown
The number of people eating more meat has doubled since February, according to research from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and carried out by YouGov.Christine Watts, chief officer for communications and market development at AHDB.The research found that the amount of meat eaten since February increased from 7% ...
-
NewsNew figures reveal fall in lamb exports as Covid-19 disruption hits meat industry
Newly-released trade figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that the volume of sheepmeat exported from the UK in the first quarter of 2020 was 15% lower than last year, entirely thanks to a 40% fall in March as coronavirus lockdowns came into effect.PGI Welsh Lamb.Exports fell from 8,748 tonnes ...
-
NewsDawn Meats to recommence patty production at Carrolls Cross
Dawn Meats has announced that processing of beef at its dedicated facility at Carrolls Cross, Waterford, for McDonald’s outlets across Europe is to recommence on 25th May. The company says this is welcome news for the employees concerned, the wider Irish beef sector and for Irish beef farmers.Niall Browne, CEO ...
-
NewsIrish workers’ union calls for meat industry coronavirus taskforce
The Irish Servers, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU) has called for a specific coronavirus taskforce to be setup to investigate the spread of the virus in a number of meat processing plants.Ireland's Minster for Agriculture, Michael Creed, pictured here at a previous ABP event is being asked to establish ...
-
NewsImpact of Covid-19 on NZ red meat sector
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has provided an update on how COVID-19 is affecting New Zealand’s red meat sector and international trade.Its report is reproduced in full here:"Despite market disruption as a result of Covid-19, the sector’s exports have continued, surpassing NZ$1billion in March – a record for monthly ...
-
NewsFSA publishes guidance for firms planning re-opening
The Food Standards Agency has published guidance on how to adapt food manufacturing operations and work safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.It says that while this guidance is more geared towards those who have closed and are looking to reopen, firms still operating may also want to review it.This guidance is ...
-
NewsMcDonald’s outlines plan for reopening in UK
The UK’s largest fast food chain, McDonald’s, has said it will open all of its drive-thru services in the UK by June, eight weeks after shutting down due to the coronavirus.After carrying out operational tests for the potential reopening of its restaurants on a single branch at the end of ...
-
NewsNSA turns to House of Lords to protect production standards
The National Sheep Association (NSA) is calling on the House of Lords to put pressure on the Government to adopt the proposals made by MPs Simon Hoare and Neil Parish for the Agriculture Bill to legally require equivalence of standards for imported foods.During the Bills report stage debate, MPs had ...
-
NewsTighter cattle numbers and balanced consumer demand supporting farmgate price
April slaughter statistics show that Scottish abattoirs, on average, processed 15% fewer cattle per week than during March, according to the latest market commentary by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).Stuart Ashworth, director of economics services at Quality Meat Scotland.Compared to April 2019, this year’s Scottish April prime cattle kill has been ...
-
NewsFlexible furloughing and trade credit victory for meat industry
The Government’s coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of October and become more flexible, something the meat industry has been requesting for many weeks. There have also been steps taken in relation to trade credit insurance, which will be welcomed by many, in particular AIMS which ...
-
NewsBritish Game Alliance provides free meals for NHS workers
Wild and Game, the not-for-profit company working to boost game consumption in the UK, has teamed up with the British Game Alliance to supply free game-based meals to NHS workers during the Covid-19 crisis.The Game Aid project started with the delivery of 2,500 game-based lunch bags to Musgrove Park Hospital ...
-
NewsNFU urges MPs to support food and farming during Agriculture Bill debate
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has called on farming, environmental and animal welfare organisations to write to all 650 MPs and urge them to ensure the new Agriculture Bill protects the UK’s environmental and animal welfare standards for imported food.The Bill returns for its final report stages this week before ...
