06/04/2011

The European arm of international peasant farmers’ movement Via Campesina has outlined its propositions for a new “European Pork Policy” in a communiqué released on Friday (1^st April).

According to Via Campesina, which represents around 150 organisations in 70 countries, “there are not too many producers, but too many pigs.” The group proposes, “Controlling production on European and national levels... this is necessary to secure a fair wage for producers; the price of pork must cover the cost of sustainable production. We must alter European production according to demand.”

 Via Campesina supported its calls for reorganising production by explaining, “In the first place, we must take account of the current national production levels and then adjust them at the level of each member state. In the short term, to face up to territorial and environmental issues, production must be rearranged to reflect local consumption levels, to establish regional and environmental balance.”

The objective, Via says, will be to ensure “a maximum number of pigs per farm and per hectare.” Those behind the pork plan demand that, “cooperatives and conglomerates must stop pushing smaller producers until they can no longer compete; this is an endless process and it destroys farmers’ livelihoods and rural communities.”

The group also denounces “the extreme dependence on imported soya of such production systems.” Via Campesina seeks to “rearrange modes of production so that crops grown in the region go to feed livestock, rather than crops from South America; this is essential to curbing water pollution and securing soil fertility in both Europe and South America.”  

The group has also made proposals to limit the slaughter weight of porks, in an effort to reduce boar taint, which the group says could be tested for at slaughter. Although the group is opposed to castrating piglets, the Via Campesina communiqué recommended continuing the practice with the use of painkillers until such a time as its propositions were adopted.

BPEX study shows UK welfare premium eroded in 2010

While improved welfare standards have traditionally benefitted British meat, the latest findings from BPEX indicate that this may cease to be the case. The Market Trends and Outlook Report commissioned by BPEX, which appeared last Thursday (31^st March), reveals that 2010 was a changeable year for UK and EU pork producers. The report’s findings show that the pig market is looking favourable for 2011. However, it also reveals that rises in raw materials costs and “Volatility in the commodity markets” has resulted in estimated cost of production increases amounting to £1.64 per kg by this month.

The position of privilege once accorded to the UK thanks to its comparatively high welfare standards has also been eroded according to the report. The pig price premium, which at the start of 2010 saw UK pig product selling for 20p per kg more than EU product, fell to less than a penny per kg within the first quarter.

The report states, “The UK obtained a premium on the average EU reference price in 2010 which averaged 17p per kg... as a result of higher welfare regulations, which is associated with higher costs of production. However, the premium has been eroded due to a declining UK price and a recovering European price.”

BPEX maintain that this dramatic reduction in the premium enjoyed by British producers makes UK pork a more attractive option to other states wishing to import and as such will boost competitively.