AHDB exports chief, Jean-Pierre Garnier, issued an upbeat pork sector message earlier today during a visit to SIAL Paris 2016, the international food and farm trade fair which is held in the French capital every two years.
“There are absolutely no short-term downsides to the present market situation for UK pig producers,” Mr Garnier told Pig World, highlighting the beneficial impact on both imports and exports of having sterling valued at €1.10 today rather than last year’s peak of €1.44.
“At €1.44 it was very, very difficult to export meat while at €1.10 it’s a completely different story. At this stage, therefore, there are no producer negatives in sight, especially with many consumers around the world appreciating the excellent quality of British pork and the high welfare standards of our production industry.”
He also remained upbeat when asked to address the future trading issues surrounding Brexit, adding that it had taken the UK seven years of preparation to originally become members of the EU and that it could take “even longer” to complete the Brexit process.
For the moment, therefore, Mr Garnier (pictured above at SIAL) urged farmers to concentrate on the certainty of their production standards and quality and leave the uncertainties of Brexit to the future.