BPEX Weekly: December 11 2009

Marketing News

Pork For All Occasions

A new category report has been produced highlighting the increased usage of pork in this current climate. It shows how cash conscious consumers are turning to pork and pork products for both out-of-home and in-home eating. 

For example, the recession has impacted significantly on the catering market with consumers adapting their eating-out habits accordingly, as they also have when shopping for in-home consumption. Store choice has also been affected, as has trading down through the quality tiers and the use of promotional offers employed by retailers to capture not only customers but how much they spend. For more info or a copy of the report, 'Pork - A meat for all occasions', email insight@bpex.org.uk.

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Retail Campaigns

Tesco is advertising a half price British shoulder joint on TV.

Morrisons is advertising a Christmas meal deal for £4 which includes a pork loin joint.

M&S is featuring a new ‘British Heart’ logo on its new packaging.

Asda now uses 100% British pork and bacon in its own label pork products, which include pork pies, sausage rolls and quiches.

Aldi and Lidl are promoting their increase in British sourcing.

Waitrose has a ‘Thought for Food’ campaign currently running in store which features British outdoor bred pork loin steaks, plus their Christmas advertising is featuring gammon joints.

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Stuff the Turkey...

...and try pork instead for Christmas. For a change this year (not only on your table but also in your pocket), why not serve up a succulent pork roasting joint? For an impressive look try a loin rack joint or for an easy-to-carve option try a loin joint. For tips on how to cook joints visit http://www.lovepork.co.uk/prime-cuts

and for some Christmas recipe ideas visit http://www.lovepork.co.uk/our-recipes and type roast in the search box.

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Knowledge Transfer

Tip of the Week: Feet and Legs

Before being selected for the breeding herd, feet and leg soundness must be checked. Issues such as uneven toe size, poor skeletal structure and injury can affect the lifetime productivity of gilts and so must be screened. Feet should have two even toes that are of a good size, promoting stability and ease of movement; toes on the same foot should be within half an inch of each other in size. A common, and frequently genetic, defect to look out for is small inside toes, which can lead to poor leg conformation.

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An amendment to the Nitrate Regulations was published this week, that comes into force on 28th December 2009. It largely enacts the spreading derogation for livestock other than pigs, but in the process reduces the standard nitrogen content of pig slurry to 3.6 kg/m3 rather than the previous 4 kg/m3. This may be a misprint because it makes the nitrogen content of slurry the same as the liquid fraction after separation, but until it is amended it allows farmers to spread up to 69m3 of pig slurry per ha annually per field, subject to averaging 170kg N per ha across the Holding.

A Holding is now legally defined in the regulations as: 'all the land located within a nitrate vulnerable zone and its associated buildings that are at the disposal of the occupier and which are used for the growing of crops in soil or rearing of livestock for agricultural purposes'.

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A survey of English pig producers’ salmonella control plans has found 43 percent do not include sufficient effective action towards salmonella control.

These will be returned to producers with comments on what needs to be improved. Producers will be requested to re-submit their plans and if the plan is still not considered adequate then farm assurance will be in jeopardy when inspectors do their checks.

“Producers should work closely with their vets to put together an effective control plan. The plan should detail the specific risks found on their own farm and show what action is planned to control those risks in the future,” says Professor Geoff Mead of the farm assurance technical advisory committee.

“A few of the plans I reviewed gave only a simple check-list of best practices. The plans should not be viewed like an exam and, if they only repeat general best practice advice, they are unlikely to have any major impact on the producer’s farm.”

• Does your salmonella control plan pass muster? January Pig World will explain what is needed, and where to get help.

(Source: NPA Website)

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BPEX has designed two calculators to help pig farmers complete the calculations required by Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulations (December Pig World).

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The new BPHS dates are now on the website and a flyer is being produced. To see the NPHS dates, click here.

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Christmas has come early for the pig industry with BPEX offering the chance to win £50. It is part of a new initiative to decrease the risk of disease transmission within the industry – focusing on abattoir lorry wash facilities.

A survey of facilities has been launched, where lorry wash users return a simple assessment sheet to the Pig Task Force Committee. All lorry wash users who submit contact details with their assessment sheet will be entered into a draw for the cash.

The Pig Task Force Committee, chaired by Defra minister Jim Fitzpatrick, has a sub-group focused on pig health issues and it has identified abattoir lorry washes as a significant factor for the industry.

The survey information will be collated and fed back to both the abattoirs and the task force to identify where improvements can be made and how the industry can address those areas.

Details and assessment forms have been circulated to hauliers and marketing groups and feedback on this project is welcomed. Richard Lister is the contact for comments or queries: jclister@dialstart.net.

The lorry wash scoring system and a fax-back assessment sheet can be downloaded from the BPEX website by clicking here.

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Can you design the perfect pig unit, combining pig flow, budgets and new technology and systems? Teams design their own pig unit and improve on their own!

If you fancy coming along to this meeting or want more information, contact Helen Thoday 07973 701 202. The meeting is taking place on Tuesday 15th December at Larkmead Vet Practice, Cholsey OX10 9PA, starting at 3pm.

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National News:

Olympic Award for Red Tractor

The Red Tractor is going for gold at the 2012 Olympics giving cattle, sheep and pig farmers a great shop window to show off top quality meat.
The London Olympics organising committee has announced the Red Tractor will be the base standard for all food served at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
EBLEX, the strategic body for beef and lamb and BPEX, the body for pork are both delighted at the announcement.
BPEX Head of Marketing Chris Lamb said: "This is an exciting opportunity for pig producers to show the quality of their pork, bacon and ham to the world.
"Both BPEX and EBLEX were represented in the process by BPEX Foodservice Trade Sector Manager Tony Goodger who worked very hard to achieve this result."
EBLEX Director Nick Allen said: "We are delighted at this news which again demonstrates the value of farm assurance schemes and is an encouragement to producers to get involved.
"The decision guarantees that quality lamb and beef will be served at the 2012 Olympics, putting domestic producers on the world stage."

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British negotiators opposed moves to introduce Europe-wide rules on clear food labelling, in direct opposition to the Government's stated policy, the Tories have claimed.

Shadow environment secretary Nick Herbert described the situation as a "disgrace" and accused ministers of making "cynical promises" they had no intention of keeping.

He told the Commons that Environment Secretary Hilary Benn had repeatedly said the UK was pushing to have country-of-origin labelling introduced in Europe.

But according to minutes from a European Council working party on foodstuffs in July, Mr Herbert said: "The Italians, the French and nine other member states supported mandatory country-of-origin labelling - the UK opposed it."

Ministers said it was a "complex issue" and that the UK was working to secure the best deal possible.

During Commons question time, Mr Herbert said: "When meat can be imported and then labelled as British it misleads consumers and lets down our farmers."

The Government had said it wanted the practice "stamped out" but had not followed this through in Europe, he claimed.

Food Minister Jim Fitzpatrick replied: "This is a complex issue and what you describe is not the position of the Government.

"We are doing all we can to get more accurate country-of-origin labelling and we are working to make sure that the food information regulations, when they come forward, will be as tight as they possibly can be."

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Pigs Flying the Flag

If it says just “British” on the packet it will be just British in the packet – a new code of practice on the labelling of pork and pork products is to be drawn up following agreement by pig producers, processors, major food retailers and the food service sector.

When introduced, companies who have signed up to the code will clearly display the origin of the pork on the front of the packet. Meanwhile, a declaration that the meat is, for example, “British”, will mean that the animal was born, reared, and slaughtered in Britain.

There will also be an end to ambiguous terms such as “Produced in the UK” as the origin of the meat will be declared. The agreement was reached by members of the Pig Meat Supply Chain Task Force which was brought together by Defra to address issues concerning the sector including labelling, environmental performance and competitiveness.

Announcing the agreement, Food and Farming Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, who chairs the Task Force, said: “This agreement is great news for consumers and the whole supply chain. It means that if you buy bacon or sausages from a retailer who’s signed up to the code then you’ll know exactly where the meat has come from.

“It’s also helpful for the supply chain from farm to fork, because there will be consistent definitions which the industry can use.”

Mick Sloyan, Chief Executive of the British Pig Executive, who chairs the labelling sub group on the Task Force, said: “This is a very significant step forward by all elements of the pig meat supply chain to provide consumers with even greater confidence in what they purchase. 

“BPEX has long championed the need for unambiguous consumer choice.  This voluntary code will reassure consumers that, when they buy British pork products, they will have been produced to our high welfare and exacting quality standards."

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Pigs to the Ukraine

The UK-based international pig breeding company JSR Genetics Ltd has secured an agreement to supply 2 of the Ukraine’s largest pig producers with high-health breeding stock.

LLC Plemzavod and LLC Evroresurs: (Kalita) visited the UK earlier this year to inspect JSR’s supply units as part of the Ukraine’s health certificate requirements. They were very impressed not only with the quality of the stock, but the high standards of health and welfare maintained by the company, JSR reports.

To date, over 250 high-health animals have been exported to LLC Plemzavod with another 400 due to be shipped in December 2009 and early January 2010. LLC Evroresurs took delivery of over 100 animals in early November 2009.

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International News:

Pork Trade to Shrink

According to the US and Russian analysts forecasts, global pork trade this year will shrink by more than 10% for the first time in a decade.

However, despite a slow economic recovery expected in 2010 the demand for pork next year will slightly increase in the EU as well as emerging nations.

It is expected that this year pork production will mainly grow in China, which produces more than 50% of world’s pork, and in Brazil. In Russia, which seeks to reduce its dependence on imported pork, these figures will increase by almost 7%.

Next year, pork production will grow in all major regions of the world except the U.S. and Canada. In the case of China the rise in production will be mainly attributed to increase in governmental support, low feed prices and an increase in the level of veterinary care. In Brazil and Russia, according to forecasts, the growth rate will amount to 4%, while in the EU - 2%.

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Global food prices are on the ascent again with the FAO Food Price Index – a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar – registering four straight monthly rises. The index averaged 168 points in November, the highest since September 2008.
That was still 21 percent below its peak in June 2008. Prior to the price spike of 2007/08, the index never exceeded 120 points and, for most of the time, was below 100points.

However, it seems that market conditions are different from those that triggered the food price crisis that started two years ago.

Today, world cereal stocks are at more comfortable levels, although some markets are facing tight conditions. In general supplies held by exporters are more adequate to respond to rising demand than they were during the price surge period. For example, the wheat stocks-to-use ratio in major exporting countries has risen from 12 percent to 20 percent this season. However, macro-economic factors, exchange rates, volatile oil prices and, once again, rising liquidity stemming from exceptionally low interest rates continue to generate uncertainty, which food markets have to live with.

As to meat, world meat prices were an average 8 percent lower in the first ten months of 2009 than the same period last year. Lower global imports are expected to depress world trade in all various meat categories in 2009 but a modest recovery is expected in 2010.

More info on the food outlook to be found by clicking here.

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Export Latest

To read the full Export Report click here.

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International Prices

For the Latest EU prices, click here.

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