The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Production at pig abattoir is stepped up
Brechin’s pig abattoir has stepped up production to four days this week in an attempt to ease the backlog of more than 10,000 animals awaiting slaughter on Scottish farms.
The Quality Pig Processors plant has been on a three-day week for most of this year, but Scottish Pig Producers chief executive Andy McGowan said it would be four from now on, hopefully rising to five soon.
He said: “It’s positive news and it will hopefully help, but we’re not working in an easy market environment.
“European market prices have hit rock bottom and Chinese prices have come well back, so what processors are doing is putting the effort into finding new markets.”
Meanwhile, the beleaguered industry could be in line for a levy holiday if Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) follows the lead taken by the AHDB in England, although producers pay £1.02 per pig and processors pay 24p, so it is unlikely to make much of an impact on profitability.
The proposal was discussed by QMS at a board meeting yesterday after the chairman of the AHDB’s pork sector board, Mike Sheldon, reported that “very serious animal welfare consequences were likely in the coming days and weeks unless the supply chain acts to divert animals towards lowrevenue, minimal-butchery solutions”.
Mr Sheldon proposed setting the pork levy at zero for a month, which he said would help avert the animal welfare issues without distorting the market.
The AHDB board, which approved the move, said it was only possible because of the exceptional concerns about animal welfare, and because costs could be met from reserves and the re-forecasting of remaining expenditure for the coming year.
QMS was contacted for comment.