//19 Jul 2011
Author: John Gadd
I am often asked "Which, of all the pig producers you have met - impressed you the most?"
"Easy," I said. "30 years ago, I was speaking in New Zealand when a rather plain, plump lady came up at the end of the talk and asked a quite simple technical question. (Oh Lord, I thought to myself, another 'goat-wife' - this term being given by speakers to well-meaning and enthusiastic members of the audience who button-hole them after the talk, rather than asking questions from the floor - usually when the weary speaker is dying to slake his thirst in the bar! I'm told that ladies who keep goats are particually fond of doing this.)
She then asked another question which was more dififcult, followed by a third which had me properly stumped. "Careful, Gadd," I said to myself. "This lady knows her stuff."
I stopped being patronising as I'm sure I had been up to then...
Intrigued - I started to ask her a few questions about her own unit of about 50 sows. Within five minutes I was amazed at her obvious skill and knowlege about pigs. For example she formulated her own rations (of course) and showed considerable nutritional knowlege, even going so far as to use sensitivity analysis in their design! She knew more than I did about pig rearing.
"But where did you get all this knowlege?", I asked her. "From writing to people like you," she replied. An accolade I certainly didn't deserve.
Good on you, New Zealand. You once had the most knowlegeable pig farmer in the world! With just 50 sows!
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
07 July 2011
Third world pig prices higher than in Britain
//06 Jul 2011
Poor ‘Third World’ countries are prepared to pay more for their pork than British retailers. In Cambodia the farm-gate price paid for pigs is currently equivalent to £2.47 per kg deadweight. This compares with the UK price of just £1.51 per kg.
“This makes a mockery of the claims by major retailers that ordinary British people are not in a position to pay more for their pigmeat,” said Matthew Curtis, ACMC Ltd’s managing director - the Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company is doing business in Cambodia.
“It is extremely cheap, even when compared with other red meats in this country. For example, retailers price fillet of beef at about £35.00 per kg compared with just £7.00 for fillet of pork.” Retailers, he says, are making a fortune out of the pig industry while British pig farmers are losing up to £15 – 20 p per kg – on every pig they produce.
“The price paid for pigs by processors and retailers in a supposedly rich ‘First World’ country hasn’t reflected the increase in feed prices. Pig farmers can’t sustain these losses. If prices don’t increase to a realistic level, they will simply be driven out of business and retailers will have killed the goose that’s laying their golden eggs,” he said.
“If only the major retailers would engage enthusiastically with the whole supply chain and share risk, we could all make a living and continue to provide pork and pigmeat products at an attractive price,” commented BPEX chairman Stewart Houston. “Even the Chinese, who have half the world’s pigs, are prepared to pay more than the British. Their pig farmers are currently receiving around £2.55 per kg,” he added.
Source: ACMC
Poor ‘Third World’ countries are prepared to pay more for their pork than British retailers. In Cambodia the farm-gate price paid for pigs is currently equivalent to £2.47 per kg deadweight. This compares with the UK price of just £1.51 per kg.
“This makes a mockery of the claims by major retailers that ordinary British people are not in a position to pay more for their pigmeat,” said Matthew Curtis, ACMC Ltd’s managing director - the Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company is doing business in Cambodia.
“It is extremely cheap, even when compared with other red meats in this country. For example, retailers price fillet of beef at about £35.00 per kg compared with just £7.00 for fillet of pork.” Retailers, he says, are making a fortune out of the pig industry while British pig farmers are losing up to £15 – 20 p per kg – on every pig they produce.
“The price paid for pigs by processors and retailers in a supposedly rich ‘First World’ country hasn’t reflected the increase in feed prices. Pig farmers can’t sustain these losses. If prices don’t increase to a realistic level, they will simply be driven out of business and retailers will have killed the goose that’s laying their golden eggs,” he said.
“If only the major retailers would engage enthusiastically with the whole supply chain and share risk, we could all make a living and continue to provide pork and pigmeat products at an attractive price,” commented BPEX chairman Stewart Houston. “Even the Chinese, who have half the world’s pigs, are prepared to pay more than the British. Their pig farmers are currently receiving around £2.55 per kg,” he added.
Source: ACMC
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