NPA calls for legal contracts to avert pig sector collapse

The National Pig Association (NPA) has called for essential reforms to the pork supply chain to avert the collapse of the sector.

The organisation made the call in its submission to Defra’s consultation on Contractual Practice in the UK Pig Sector which closed on 7 October.

Its main call was for all new pig contracts to be underpinned by legislation. New laws would allow producers, marketing groups and processors to negotiate terms that worked for all parties, including ensuring a fair price for farmers, the NPA said.

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Contracts should be negotiated by all parties and include a fair and transparent price, the submission stated. And any one-sided clauses should be removed, while a mechanism for dispute resolution should be inserted.

Officials also called for better forecasting to improve business planning as part of a drive to increase transparency across the chain.

And the NPA urged pork buyers to make better use of the entire pig carcass, rather than just selective cuts.

Sector losses

Norfolk pig producer and NPA chairman Rob Mutimer said the consultation process had offered real hope for pig farmers in desperate times for the sector.

Mr Mutimer pointed out that pig sector losses had reached £600m in the past 18 months.

Many farms had already been forced to close with the breeding herd down by 18%. Many more were on the brink with prices still below the cost of production.

“It has become fairly obvious to all involved that the supply chain, as it stands, is broken,” he said.

Mr Mutimer added that for many producers, contracts during the crisis had not been worth the paper they were written on. Producers had been left powerless as slots at abattoirs were postponed week after week.

A combination of Brexit-related labour shortages, the war in Ukraine, and soaring feed and energy costs had left the UK’s capacity to produce pork under threat.

“We believe the measures that we and others who have responded are calling for will, if implemented, form the basis of a stronger, more coherent supply chain where all parts have the opportunity to thrive.

“But the government must act decisively and quickly before it is too late for the pig sector – and to fulfil its stated aims of reinforcing the UK’s food security.”