The British pig industry is becoming more and more unsustainable, as pig health is declining, pressure from EU and UK governments is increasing and the failure of parties to collaborate and communicate on matters of production and marketing.
This report identifies the reasons for the current economic difficulties and how this can be improved, both theoretically and in practice. The author begins by outlining his role within Alvis Bros Ltd, family owned food and farming business, of which finishing 35,000 bacon pigs is one enterprise. The UK pig and poultry industries are summarised, alongside consumer trends and supermarket influences with respect to own label products, which sell in huge volumes at exceptionally low prices. The resulting problems with agriculture as a whole in terms of its business independence and lack of co-operation are focused upon. The author then investigates the topic, as it is structured as a formal report with a preceding literature review. This includes details of innovation within the supply chain network, learning from examples of industry structure abroad, namely Japan, Hawaii and Canada. Effective conclusions and recommendations for future action are then made, highlighting the need to work closely with retailers to increase pork consumption, as UK supermarkets are by far the best in the world.
The author travelled to Japan, Hawaii, Canada and the USA to produce this report.
Profits on UK produced pigs have fallen significantly during the last 10 years but yet more lucrative systems for independently producing pigs remain in some parts of the world. However, replicating these in the UK is now the primary task, but more importantly in a sustainable manner.
The author begins by outlining his background in pig production and his endeavour to find a secure profitable future for himself and other pig producers. A global overview of the pig industry is detailed, as the report develops the situation in China, the world's largest producer and consumer of pig meat, Denmark, who have an outstanding reputation for pig production, and finally, mid west America, the origins of the independent pig producer. Each section of the journey is told, in the present tense, incorporating information on production and consumption, trade bodies and influential organisations and major businesses within the industry (such as the China Livestock Association). The report develops towards an end where the author's findings assist the establishment of a company, "Genesis Farmers, A Better Way," between local producers. Nevertheless the report then coherently concludes with a comparison of findings abroad Vs UK techniques, highlighting one key marketing tool:- product differentiation with respect to the fact that no other country has an outdoor pig industry on the scale of the UK's.
Robert Lasseter travelled to China, Denmark and the mid-west of America to produce this report.
The pig supply chain is driven too much by the bottom line depressing all those along the supply chain. The author argues that if the UK pig industry is to survive all parties within the supply chain need to work more closely to the benefit of everyone involved.
This report begins by outlining many problems that the whole pig meat supply chain has including the needs of the producer, processor and retailer. This is developed to identify areas of improvement, such as the need to increase the power of the processor to maintain more of the final selling price within the first two stages of the chain. Contracts and co-operatives are discussed where the requirements of an effective contract are outlined for members of the supply chain to provide trust and stability between each other, thus increasing co-operation and efficiency. This is concluded showing that producers and processors have improved their consolidation but more is needed to involve retailers to allow an overhaul of attitude towards each party.
Post UK travel, the author visited Germany, Spain and Denmark.
