British pig farmers are up in arms that they have not benefited from the global surge in pigmeat prices created by China’s African Swine Fever (ASF) epidemic.
The National Pig Association (NPA) say higher prices have not been passed on by UK processors and estimate British farmers have lost out on up to £13 million over the five weeks to late May.
The NPA is now keen to discuss the possibility of a pork supply chain code of conduct to ensure more transparent pricing in future.
Processors, meanwhile, have blamed the slow UK price recovery on the large tonnage of stockpiled pigmeat which was put into storage ahead of the UK’s expected exit from the EU at the end of March.
However, NPA chief executive Zoe Davies dismissed this as an “excuse” and not sufficient to explain the static prices as all the other major pig-producing countries have benefited from the EU reference price rocketing by 30p/kg since early February to stand at nearly 147p/kg in mid-May.
By contrast, the UK price has barely moved until recently.
Ms Davies said: “These figures highlight the extent to which UK producers are losing out because of the actions of UK processors.
“We are talking about losses in the region of £8m to £13m over just five weeks, which is totally unacceptable.
“We do not believe the gap between UK and EU prices is justified and want to see far more significant increases in the coming weeks.”
According to Andy McGowan, the chief executive of Scottish Pig Producers, which supplies the Brechin pig abattoir, the Chinese eat the equivalent of the UK’s entire pig herd every six days and are now estimated to be short of 200 million pigs after ASF wiped out a quarter of their production. Vietnam has also culled two million pigs.
Mr McGowan said: “Imported European pigmeat is now more expensive than the home-produced product, so we will see a correction.
“The tide has started to turn in the last three weeks, with prices up by around 5p/kg, but it has taken two to three months to start to correct, whereas it usually takes four to six weeks.”
However, Mr McGowan warned that demand on the domestic market is flat and if prices go up because of the exports it could have a damaging effect at home.
Last night, the World Organisation for Animal Health called for the establishment of a global initiative to control ASF in the hope of eradicating it entirely.
nnicolson@thecourier.co.uk
