The NPA has welcomed Defra’s commitment reform the pig supply chain, including introducing new regulation to govern pig contracts.
The Department has today published a summary of responses to its consultation on contractual practice in the pork supply chain, which also sets out the next steps in the process.
The NPA said this addresses most of the key asks it put forward in its consultation response in October 2022, with regulations to be developed to ensure written agreements are used between all producers and their buyers and to collect and disseminate more supply chain data.
Defra says it will also share its findings relating to the alleged negative consequences of market consolidation with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
However, as expected, the powers are limited in the Agriculture Bill, so the NPA has stressed that the wider issues further up the supply chain, including the actions of retailers, must be addressed, too.
Defra’s consultation, which closed in October, received a hugely impressive 374 responses from across the pig sector with the majority from independent producers, providing Defra with a clear mandate to pursue meaningful reforms.
NPA Chair Rob Mutimer said: “We are very pleased that Defra has taken on board the very clear messages from the NPA and the wider industry about what needs to be done to fix our broken supply chain.
“For too long, producers have been treated poorly and contracts have not been worth the paper they were written on – and we have seen some disastrous consequences of that behaviour over the past two years.
“We believe the measures set out today, including legal underpinning for contracts that delivers a fair transparent and negotiable contract system, will help deliver a fairer and more sustainable environment for pig producers.”
NPA Chief Executive, Lizzie Wilson, added: “We are pleased with the pace Defra has worked at to get to this point and are keen that this policy remains a priority. They have also committed to working with industry on the next phase of policy development and NPA are happy to be fully engaged.
“But the bottom line is that, while legislative changes can set the framework for reform between the producer and whoever they have their contract with, real change must also come from within the supply chain. The Government alludes to this with their commitment to share their findings with the Competition and Markets Authority.
“But we have lost almost one-fifth of our pig breeding capacity as a result of two years of crisis. Pig prices might be rising, but pig producers are still hurting badly, with huge financial holes to fill, and confidence remains low.
“That will only change if pig farmers can see that retailers and processors have got the message that fundamental reform is needed if we are to secure supplies of high welfare, environmentally friendly assured Red Tractor British pork in the future.”