Pork crisis: There are not too many producers, but too many pigs

Pork crisis : By refusing to attack the roots of the crisis, the pork agro-industrial lobby and the European Commission are heading for a dead end. It is urgently necessary to change policy and to re-orientate modes of production in the pork sector. There are not too many producers, but too many pigs. The European Commission- DG AGRI organized the first of 3 meetings of the enlarged pork advisory group which includes representatives of the 27 Member States yesterday, in order to examine the remedies for the current pork crisis related to the price increase in animal feed. The new dioxin scandal, this time in Germany, reveals a very fragile model of industrialized pork production, dependent on imports of plant proteins, exports of pork surpluses, stability of the Euro, and speculation, in particular on cereals. Facing a dramatic increase of production costs for all producers, the agro-industrial lobby (COPA, industry), largely supported in its declarations by DG AGRI, was disabled yesterday, having been essentially hung by its own rope ( market deregulation, endless restructuring). With a negative income, the work of producers is not recognized and they don’t want to be made responsible. Between cereal producers and a large retailing sector, there are plenty of margins to distribute. As the number of producers continues to decrease (especially in Central Europe ) production continues to increase, always above European demand. The production is thus continues to be concentrated on specialized, industrialized farms. Commission announces difficult years to come for producers, because it has little to offer in the way of proposals: subsidies for income insurances , support for restructuring and for the installation of new producer groups, and an end of zero tolerance for GM feed imports. The participants recognized that was not going to solve the problems. For Claude Cellier, producer out of Champagne (France), ECVC representative, these measures would go in the wrong direction: “economy of scale does not explain everything: my margin per sow is better with 100 sews than that of my neighbour who has more than 1000. The restructuring logic is infernal: when just 2 producers remain, it will be said that there is still one too many, avoiding the reality of the problem. In other respects, to present the access to raw GM materials coming from the other side of the world as a solution to decrease production costs is a myth.” The EU and the pork chain must accept that the current policy be called into question. European Coordination Via Campesina demands a stop to the concentration of production and the re-establishment of the link between farm and field. It asks for a better distribution of added-value as well as a transparency of the margins throughout the food chain. Instead of income insurances - costly for taxpayers and producers (for Claude Cellier, it is about “a subsidy to insurers”)- it is necessary to take the problem upstream and to manage supply, while starting by reducing the weight of carcasses, increasingly heavy with the passing of years. Whereas the pharmacy lobby seeks to impose chemical castration, why doesn’t the EU require the slaughter of non castrated males at 90 kg? Industrialized pork production should be confronted with their responsibilities, and pay the social and environmental damages that it currently externalises to taxpayers. The EU must support sustainable pork production based in the fields and prioritize using in local feeds and diversified races. Contact : Claude Cellier (FR) : +33 (0)6 83 18 51 54 in Bxl : Gérard Choplin (FR,EN,DE) : +32 (0) 473257378