April 7, 2023

 

New UK plan to ensure fairness and transparency in swine sector

 

The UK government has committed to regulate swine contracts to support the supply chain and provide greater certainty across the whole sector, Gov.uk reported.

 

These new regulations will contribute to the UK swine supply chain's stability and security, enhancing the industry's capacity to address the challenges currently faced globally, such as rising costs and labour shortages brought on by global pressures.

 

This move follows a public consultation last year, to which producers, processors, and other supply chain participants submitted nearly 400 responses.

 

The majority of respondents supported the government's plan to implement this through legislation, reflecting the industry's general belief that legally requiring written contracts would eliminate uncertainty and ambiguity.

 

Mark Spencer, UK's Farming Minister, said the swine industry has faced unprecedented challenges over the past year, with rising costs and a global labour shortage putting significant pressure on producers and processors.

 

Spencer said the UK government is committed to working with the industry, and the regulations set to be introduced will ensure fairness and transparency throughout the supply chain, from the swine to the pork to the plate, to help the industry thrive in the future.

 

The regulations will be developed using the regulation-making power in section 29 of the UK Agriculture Act 2020, and additional consultation with the swine sector will be conducted to ensure that they are appropriate for the industry and adequately address the challenges it faces.

 

The government will also develop regulations to collect and share more supply chain data, particularly in relation to wholesale price transparency and national slaughter numbers. Increasing the availability of this sort of data within the supply chain will help market reporting services be more reflective of the entire UK market, and will help to further reduce ambiguity for all within the supply chain.

 

UK swine producers' concerns about market consolidation in the processing industry and how it affects them were also made known through the consultation. In response, the UK government will inform the Competition and Markets Authority of the consultation's findings regarding the alleged adverse effects of market consolidation.

 

-      Gov.uk