Danish Crown chairman Erik Bredholt says the farmers’ cooperative is excited about working with Scottish pig producers.
The UK subsidiary of the £6.2 billion turnover company, Tulip UK, is one of three partners involved in a new Scots pig cooperative known as QPL.
The partnership, with Scottish Pig Producers and Scotlean, has bought the Brechin pig abattoir from AP Jess.
It plans to double the weekly kill from 4,000 to 8,000 pigs.
Speaking at the SAOS conference in Crieff this week, Mr Bredholt said that the cooperative was looking to build a “fruitful cooperation” with Scots pig producers.
He said there were no plans to allow Scottish farmers to join the Danish Crown cooperative, which has more than 8,000 members, because trans-national cooperatives were very difficult to run.
“In my view, in order to have a transnational cooperative it needs to have a big size like Arla but they also have difficulties.
“No matter what the market varieties are, they try to have the same price in every country,” said Mr Bredholt.
He said Scottish pig producers were better off forming a partnership, like they have done at Brechin, and building long-term relations with an international company.
Tulip UK, which operates 17 plants, was the biggest subsidiary owned by the group, posting turnover of £1.1bn last year, said Mr Bredholt.
However, he warned that the UK market remained very competitive, and said there was a “tough environment amongst the retailers”.
“The UK is the biggest market in terms of pork products out of Denmark. We would not like to see the market shut down like the Russian market is currently,” said Mr Bredholt.
On the effects of the Russian trade ban, he said this had been a core market for selling pig fat.
“Our prices peaked at £1.50 per kilo for fat in Russia, but we get rid of it now for next to nothing,” added Mr Bredholt.
His estimates that there were four kilos of fat on every pig suggest the Russian trade ban is costing the Danish coop at least £6 for every pig slaughtered.