SCB launches pork initiative to support local producers
Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) has launched its ‘Porktober’ initiative, which seeks to encourage consumers to “buy Scottish”, with around 400 independent butchers involved.
The aim of the initiative is to highlight the versatility, nutritional value, and cost effectiveness of home-produced pork. The campaign will run throughout the month of October.
According to SCB, the initiative was launched following “the inability to move animals from farm to processing during Covid and the influx of imports, which has left many of Scotland’s 60-plus professional producers struggling.”
Scottish Pig Producers CEO Andy McGowan welcomed the Porktober campaign to help combat what he described as “the worst conditions in a generation” in the industry.
He said: “[The aftermath of Covid] was then compounded with sales prices hitting rock bottom and the rising cost of producing prime pork, as gas and electricity costs soared.
McGowan explained that many farmers in Scotland are now at “breaking point.” He said: “We’re urging customers to buy Scottish pork rather than imported alternatives and this drive by Scottish Craft Butchers will help keep locally produced pork in the public eye.”
SCB president Tom Courts said that pork is a “mainstay of a butcher’s sales” and local independent outlets supply Scottish pork to their customers through products including sausages, bacon, chops and ribs.
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