Reduced availability and higher prices for pork are the likely outcomes of legislation due to take effect throughout the EU from 1 January 2013. The danger of illegally-produced product being traded and imported to the UK is also possible, according to a report from BPEX.

 

The body, which represents the interests of pig producers and processors in England, warns that security of supply will assume greater importance for the retail sector and is urging UK businesses to establish dedicated supply chains to ensure the guaranteed supply of high-welfare pork such as Red Tractor or equivalent schemes.

 

Legislation imposing a partial ban on the use of sow stalls comes into force in January 2013 – more than 10 years after the UK banned the use of sow stalls completely to raise animal welfare standards. Few, if any, EU Member States will be fully-compliant with the legislation and it is acknowledged that a considerable proportion of pig producers in those countries have not yet moved to a welfare-friendly pig production system.

 

Some producers will quit the industry because they will be unable or unwilling to make the necessary investment to convert their systems by 1 January 2013. It is predicted, therefore, that pig meat production in the EU will decline as a direct result. This will lead not only to higher prices but will also impact on the amount of pig meat available to be imported into the UK.

 

BPEX adds to its own warning by quoting highly respected, authoritative commentators in Europe who have said that the total sow herd in Europe may shrink by as much as 30 per cent when the new pig welfare rules come into place.

 

BPEX also warns of the possibility that some non-compliant product will be produced - illegally - and traded after the 1 January 2013 deadline and that some of that will be exported to the UK. “This is not only unacceptable in itself,” says the report, “it will continue to prolong the competitive disadvantage under which the UK pig industry has operated since 1999.”

 

While production – and certainly the export – of non-compliant product would be unacceptable to British pig producers, BPEX insists it should not be tolerated by others in the pig meat chain. It is calling for every safeguard to ensure it does not reach consumers in the UK. 

 

Indeed, many others in the EU pig industry, mindful of the substantial trade that takes place in the EU, are calling for robust auditing of all traded product to ensure it meets welfare legislation.

 

The European Commission stated earlier this year that it does not propose any derogation to any Member State.  While Member States are primarily responsible for implementing the new EU legislation, the inspection service of the European Commission Health and Consumers Directorate General, through its Food and Veterinary Office, regularly carries out audits in Member States to assess the implementation of the legislation.

 

Commenting on the report, BPEX chairman Stewart Houston said: “It is more than likely that many pig enterprises throughout the EU will fail to move to full compliance of these higher welfare standards, which incidentally still fall short of the standards adopted by UK pig farmers.

 

“There is a very real danger, therefore, that the supply of legally-produced pork and pork products will decrease significantly and that this will inevitably impact on UK pig meat imports and restrict retailers’ and caterers’ ability to import as easily and cheaply as before. The need for UK businesses to establish dedicated supply chains to ensure the guaranteed supply of high-welfare pork becomes imperative,” he concluded.

The report can be downloaded by clicking here.