June 11, 2010
Big River processes 50% of South Australian pork
Big River Pork's four shareholders - Auspork, BE Campbell, George Weston Foods and Hurstbridge Abattoirs - have built up the business to process about 50% of South Australia's pork.
The Murray Bridge business was started by a consortium of pig farmers in the Murraylands who wanted a closer processor to slaughter their animals.
Big River Pork general manager Neville Davies said each week about 12,000 pigs were processed through the slaughter floor and about 4,000 through the boning room.
In 2007, after the Primo abattoir at Port Wakefield burnt down, Big River Pork took on their work. "For two years, until February 2009, we were running two shifts here and processing about 25,000 pigs each week to keep Primo going and keep the industry alive," Davies said.
To accommodate the higher demand on their service, Big River Pork had to make some renovations. "We increased our chiller by 50% and our pig yards by nearly 100%," Davies said.
After Primo reopened, Big River Pork reverted to one shift again. "We can process more," Davies said. "About 13,000 to 14,000 pigs on a one shift basis would be our limit. But then we do have the infrastructure to set up another shift comfortably."
Big River Pork processes pigs for supply across Australia and exports each week to Singapore.
