Levy payers from across the four sectors will have the opportunity to question their sector chairs about the proposed levy increases at an online AHDB ‘Funding the Future’ event on Thursday.
AHDB confirmed plans for a 20% hike in the pork levy at the start of October, which would see the total pig levy, which hasn’t changed since 1996, go up by 21p to £1.26/pig from April 2024. The producer levy would increase by 17p to £1.02 and the processor levy by 4p to 24p.
This would raise approximately a further £1.5 million, taking the total levy to around £8.6m. “We need to act together to face huge challenges and optimise the future of the sector,” AHDB pork sector chair Mike Sheldon said when the proposed increase was announced, pointing out that the pork levy’s spending power has ‘dramatically reduced’ over the past 20 years or so. “
AHDB is proposing levy increases on a similar scale across the other three sectors, and has been engaging with levy payers to explain the reasons and try and gather support to justify the increases to Ministers, who will make the final decision.
The plans have so far received mixed support among pork levy payers, with some willing to accept the rise and others strongly opposed, particularly in the context of the recent financial crisis.
The Funding the Future livestream event on November 9 will be a key part of the levy payer engagement programme. Throughout the day, the sector chairs will, in turn, set out how the proposed levy rise will be used to benefit the industry, with each session ending in a Q&A with levy payers.
- The pork event will take place at 4pm. You can register and submit questions HERE
Pigs Today Podcast
In a special Pigs Today podcast, Mr Sheldon explained that AHDB needs to increase the levy to maintain and enhance the services it delivers across its priority areas – exports, domestic marketing and industry reputation.
He highlighted, for example, that the return on AHDB’s domestic marketing spend is starting to dwindle, but said by investing more, it can deliver better ‘bang for levy payers’ buck’.
He said AHDB acknowledged that levy payers are under pressure, themselves, but urged them to see the levy as an ‘investment’, highlighting the development of export markets as a prime example of where levy spend delivers significant returns.