The Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee in the Senedd has called for reforms to the Welsh meat trade body Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).
The Committee said the Welsh Government should launch a “full review of HCC’s governance and ownership, and consider the potential return of control to the Welsh meat industry”.
A number of recommendations form part of a report examining HCC’s effectiveness and future direction. The Committee has highlighted concerns over financial sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and the “need for clearer targets”.
Andrew RT Davies MS, chair of the Senedd’s Economy Trade and Rural Affairs Committee, said: “Welsh beef and lamb are globally renowned for their quality, sustainability and animal welfare standards. Hybu Cig Cymru must reflect that in its leadership and delivery. After a difficult period marked by internal disruption and loss of confidence, this is a pivotal moment to rebuild trust, strengthen governance, and ensure the organisation is truly accountable to the levy payers who fund it.
“Stronger industry representation at the highest levels within Hybu Cig Cymru could have helped to prevent the recent turmoil in the organisation and foster better leadership. To prevent similar issues in the future, it’s crucial for us to make sure the industry’s voice is heard at every level.
“This is also a challenging time for farmers, with a lot of uncertainty around tax and financial support. This is why it’s more important than ever that Hybu Cig Cymru is focused on working hard on behalf of farmers, and the wider meat industry, to promote our premium red meat.
“The Welsh Government must now step up and act on these recommendations to secure the future of our red meat sector.”
Key recommendations:
- Governance reform: A review of HCC’s structure, including the potential return of ownership to levy payers and increased industry representation on the board.
- Financial sustainability: Clarification regarding future funding plans and exploring additional sources, including Government support and service provision.
- Performance and accountability: The introduction of measurable targets and transparent reporting to ensure value for money.
- Stakeholder engagement: Improved visibility and communication with farmers, processors and auctioneers.
- Collaboration: Increased joint working with other levy bodies and Farming Connect to reduce duplication and maximise impact.
- Promotion and impact: Strengthened evidence of marketing effectiveness, including use of loyalty card data to measure outcomes.
Submitting written evidence to the Committee, Irish based food company Kepak said: “Since farmers and industry pay levy to HCC, it is extremely important that farmers and industry are fully represented in the HCC Board and can control/direct how that public money is spent for the benefit of all. Hence Board representation should be selected by the Industry and not by Government and chosen from active stakeholders.”
Red meat processor Dunbia stated: “It may also be time to consider clearly defining or possibly separating the relationship between HCC and the Welsh Government, allowing levy payers to assume greater control over any future red meat levy body.”
Commenting on the publication of the Senedd committee’s report HCC chief executive, José Peralta, said: “We welcome the Senedd committee’s timely recommendations and conclusions, which come at an opportune time for the industry as we look to finalise with levy payers a future delivery plan for 2026 and beyond (Vision 2030).
“To increase relevance and delivery, several recommendations highlight the need to look further at HCC’s broad remit and how it can be funded over and above the existing red meat levy. As noted in the recommendations, levy income alone is not sufficient to cover the current remit and workload of the organisation along with highlighting that it is evident that for HCC to fulfil its extensive mandate, additional funding will be necessary.
“HCC not only recognises but has been advocating for increased funding to effectively deliver for levy payers on its broad remit and continues to discuss funding options with Welsh Government.”
“As part of our current Vision 2030 engagement work we have asked levy payers for their views on how they would like to receive further engagement in an effective manner.”
José Peralta, HCC
Peralta continued: “We also agree with the report’s recommendation to increase our joint work with other Government funded bodies as well as levy-board organisations. As a wholly owned Welsh Government organisation, the recommendation around governance arrangements is a question for the Welsh Government directly. With respect to the recommendation to increase engagement with levy payers, HCC will continue to have a proactive and broad approach to engaging with levy payers.
“HCC has significantly increased its engagement in 2025 and recognises that more can always be done, whilst appreciating this should be balanced against the cost of resourcing engagement activity against a finite budget that HCC has from its levy payers. As part of our current Vision 2030 engagement work we have asked levy payers for their views on how they would like to receive further engagement in an effective manner.”
HCC “requires independence”, says NFU Cymru
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Cymru Livestock board chair Rob Lewis said: “HCC has a valuable and important role to play supporting and promoting the red meat industry in Wales, successful delivery of its remit is of paramount important [sic] to the long-term sustainability of the majority of farming businesses in Wales.
“We welcome the committee’s recommendation around giving levy payers more direct influence over the governance of the organisation. Currently the body is almost entirely funded by the levy collected from producers and processors and as such it is imperative that levy payers feel they have genuine accountability for how the money they provide through the levy is spent.
“The organisation requires a level of independence from Welsh Government, with levy payers actively involved in the appointment process to the board. We would suggest that consideration needs to be given to the industry (farming unions and processor associations) having permanent seats on the board going forward.”
Association of Independent Meat Suppliers welcomes the recommendations
Tony Goodger, head of communications at the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS), commented: “AIMS has been concerned for some period of time as to the direction and leadership of Hybu Cig Cymru and, having made a submission to the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee’s report, are pleased to see that at least one part of Welsh Government appears to have listened to the concerns we expressed on behalf of our members.
“It is essential that the report’s six recommendations are adopted as a matter of urgency, and it is also our view that a new chair and Board be appointed without delay to support to the new CEO, José Peralta, and provide new direction and to start delivering on the hard work of Welsh livestock farmers and meat processors.
“Without immediate action, it is our view that the much prized and premium asset of Welsh Lamb could well be lost within a commoditised market.”
The full Committee report can be accessed here.
