NPA calls for urgent action on pig summit plan
The National Pig Association (NPA) said that the pig industry crisis summit, hosted by Defra last week, had “delivered some progress” but urgency is now needed to save the sector.
NPA said that the pig industry crisis summit, hosted by Farming Minister Victoria Prentis in London, had produced “a coherent plan to ease the pig backlog.” It added, however, that the commitments made by those that took part now need to be acted on and “implemented with real urgency to provide desperate pig farmers with some hope for a viable future.”
“No silver bullet”
Chairman Rob Mutimer said: “We are grateful to Minister Prentis for bringing all parties – producers, processors, retailers and their trade organisations – together to try and find solutions to this deteriorating situation.
“She certainly recognises the size and the urgency of the problems and there was a real focus on an immediate plan to reduce the current backlog of pigs on farms.”
He added that there was “no silver bullet” to resolve the issue. He said: “The truth is we need more from the supply chain in terms of a workable plan.
“The challenge is to build on what we have got here and ensure every single organisation involved in the supply chain is focused on getting that backlog down and easing some of the intolerable pressure currently on pig producers.”
Some of the points to come out of the roundtable meeting:
- A plan for the backlog
Minister Prentis suggested that further groups are convened to look at the logistics of easing the backlog as the basis for a coherent plan to get more pigs off farms.
- Processing capacity
Processors said they have been working to full capacity during weekdays, meaning further shifts would have to occur at the weekend. However, Defra’s latest monthly slaughter figures for January suggest extra slaughter capacity is there.
The NPA will be writing to Minister Prentis to ask that processors set out a detailed plan that is regularly updated, including how many pigs they plan to slaughter per week, how many they actually have slaughtered, and the progress in reducing their backlog.
- Changes to support measures
The government is considering changes to its support package, including allowing fresh pork from pigs slaughtered under the Slaughter Incentive Payment scheme, to be sold on the domestic market.
The NPA and others called for changes to the skilled worker route, including the removal of the “unnecessary” English language requirement and adding butchers to the shortage occupation list. NPA noted that this is not Defra’s policy area and little progress was made. Minister Prentis agreed to convene a meeting with the Home Office and interested parties to look at the issues.
- Labour shortages
All parts of the supply chain highlighted labour shortages as the primary cause of the problems being experienced by the industry.
- Financial support for processors
NPA called for a compensation package for producers. Minister Prentis has pledged to talk to banks to make sure that they “look with leniency” where pig farmers are experiencing difficulties.
- Supply chain review
Minister Prentis has announced an “immediate review of Supply Chain Fairness in the pig sector.”
The roundtable also discussed the need for retailers to work with processors to stock and promote more British pork as it comes through the system.
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