TheMeatSite Newsletter - 27 June 2012

TheMeatSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 27th June 2012

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

EDITORIAL: Will Integrated Supply Chain Bring Home the Bacon?

A new report into the British pig meat industry calls for an integrated pig meat supply chain.

The report says that at present pig producers and processors struggle to sell their products at a profit and utilise their production capacity.

This discourages productive investment and entrenches the UK pig industry's disadvantage compared to foreign competitors, the report says.

It also encourages a worsening of pay and conditions for the workforce, and undermines job security.

The report Bringing Home the Bacon from researchers from the University of Manchester Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change says the system is economically unnecessary because there is a better way, which delivers on broader economic and social objectives.

The more integrated and consolidated national models of the Danish and Dutch pig industry or the profitable in-house UK processing operations of Morrisons represent the alternative, which uses a higher proportion of British meat compared to the other major supermarkets.

The Morrisons model aligns the interests of firm, supply chain and society. Morrisons runs its vertically integrated processing plants at full capacity and proves the benefits of plant loading with demand stabilised. The firm increases margins, reduces transaction costs and controls quality. Society gains through reduced import dependence, stable employment and the capacity to address animal welfare and climate change.

The big three supermarkets cannot choose a better way as long as they are locked into their present business model through the demands of the stock market and their own mentality and practices. Therefore, much depends on whether government can and will play a constructive role in persuading firms to change their business models.

The report suggests that there should be tax incentives from the government to form integrated supply chains.

However, the researchers appear to bring their whole argument down to a cash and profit basis and overlook other inherent motivation for producing pigs.

Many pig producers might not wish to tie themselves lock, stock and barrel to a regime where they are beholden to one outlet. Many prefer the flexibility of the market and also do not wish to become involved in the chain after the farm although many will also welcome and benefit from a relationship with both processors and retailers.

Producers will also only invest if they can see they are going to get a good reward so any partnership or relationship will have to be beneficial to all parties.

The report believes that with full backing an integrated chain will improve profits, welfare and conditions, but many producers and processors will have to be persuaded.

Chris Harris

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 5 new features this week:

Dynamic and Positive Climate for Beef
In the long term demand for beef globally is expected to be good, writes Chris Harris.

Robotic Deboning of Poultry Products
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a prototype system that uses advanced imaging technology and a robotic cutting arm to automatically debone chicken and other poultry products.

Antimicrobial Resistance of Campylobacter in Retail Chicken Livers
Campylobacter was found in 67 per cent of the 202 chicken livers and gizzards tested sampled. A high level of resistance among C. jejuni and C. coli isolates recovered was found against some of the 16 antimicrobials tested.

Quinolone Resistance Genes and Antibiotic Residues in Wastewater and Soil
Research from Beijing indicates that wastewater from pig farms may be a source of genes that could facilitate the spread of antibiotic resistance after examining wastewater from the farms and soil nearby.

Waveform and Voltage Settings in Electrical Waterbath Stunning
The waveforms required different amounts of current to achieve 90 per cent stunning, according to new research from Germany and the Netherlands. Results with alternating current indicating stun to kill and there was more wing–flapping, and female broilers obtained a significantly lower stunning current than the males.

Market Reports

» UK Slaughter Statistics - June 2012
» May 2012 Catfish Feed Deliveries Up 27 Percent from Last Year
» Catfish Processing Up 1 Percent from Last Year
» Irish CSO Livestock Slaughterings - May 2012
» USDA International Meat Review - 21 June 2012
» BPEX Export Bulletin – Week 25
» AHDB European Market Survey - 22 June 2012
» AHDB UK Market Survey - 22 June 2012
» Irish CSO - Output, Input and Income in Agriculture
» USDA Poultry Slaughter: Ready-to-Cook Weight Up 1 Percent
» USDA International Egg and Poultry: US Egg and Egg Product Exports

Company News

KEE Group Installs High Pressure Pasteurisation
TAIWAN - The opening of Taiwan's KEE Fresh & Safe Foodtech Co., Ltd. (KFS), gives food processors in the Asia-Pacific region convenient access to a technology that enhances product shelf-life and safety while responding to consumer demands for fresh and healthful foods.

Global Meat Industry News