What many in the sector hoped was just a temporary rough start to the year due to an oversupply of pigs and difficult trading conditions has now, very obviously, failed to improve.
By the week of the British Pig & Poultry Fair, it was painfully apparent how dire the situation facing the sector was continuing to become. At that point, the pig backlog was still an issue, with carcase weights stubbornly stuck at 95kg.
Since then, this has thankfully pretty much dissipated. However, the increased throughput of pigs being sold onto an already saturated market, plus the effect of the disparity of the EU price and volumes of imported pigmeat available following the Spanish outbreak of African swine fever and subsequent squeezing of export markets, has seriously damaged our price.
All while input prices are doing the opposite and culminating in every single processor giving notice on a proportion of their supply, something that is entirely unprecedented.
All of the above, and the impending formal implementation of the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations (FDOP), are issues that are not easily solved, with no silver bullets immediately at hand.
That said, the NPA team has been desperately trying to explore ways in which we can help behind the scenes.
We have issued two press releases, the first to ask the supply chain to support independent producers and to flag the issue more widely, followed by a letter to the then Defra minister Angela Eagle requesting a roundtable meeting with independent producers to discuss a way forward.
We’re told we were so close to her private office agreeing when she was reshuffled off to the Home Office. Therefore, we’re starting again with new Defra minister Stephen Morgan – although how long he’ll remain in position is anyone’s guess.
Foodservice call
We’ve since issued another press release, in conjunction with NFUS, focused on foodservice and its support of British pork, and we’ll be writing to individual businesses to ask what more they can do.
While retail commitment to sourcing British pork remains stable, foodservice is one area that is not at all transparent and uses far more imported pigmeat.
It’s also a much bigger market with far more scope for growth. This is why we are focusing our efforts there to try to stimulate demand.
We have been meeting with the various teams responsible for the FDOP, the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator and the Grocery Code Adjudicator to discuss the current situation and potential action that can be taken.
Tom has sent briefings to parliamentarians and lined up Defra questions around the minister meeting with independent producers and the challenging market.
We’ve been meeting with marketing groups, processors and retailers to ascertain the most accurate overview possible, to ask what more can be done to support independent producers and discuss potential contingency plans, should they be required for pigs still on farm with no contract at the end of six-month notice periods, come October/November.
We’ve also had discussions with the NFU and the other UK farming unions about how we can work together to help independent producers throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
PIG strategy
And finally, we presented a medium- to longer-term sector strategy for discussion to the Pig Industry Group in mid-June to try to ensure improved resilience in future, so we don’t end up back in this dire hole.
We discussed options such as forecasting and market monitoring of the breeding herd, especially piglets born – as already recorded and used in the poultry sector – among other suggestions such as a separate sector code of conduct.
As a result, we are asking producer members to complete an industry survey that is designed to fill in any gaps and better arm us in the coming weeks.
Please do get in touch with the team with any information on your individual circumstances, to ask where we might be able to help or just to talk to someone.
And don’t forget that NPA also has a variety of mental health resources for members to access. We’re here, as always, trying to do our best to fight for the survival of our producer members.