Live pig exports from F&M-free counties win Brussels go-ahead
Live pig exports from F&M-free counties win Brussels go-ahead
By Philip Clarke
and Andrew Shirley
ANIMALS on the hoof could soon be on route to the Continent for the first time since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth.
EU vets meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (Dec 4) agreed that shipments of live pigs could resume from those British counties that remained free of the disease.
That covers over half the UKs pig production, taking in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Humberside.
Last year the total value of live shipments came to about £17m, mostly breeding stock to north European countries, representing about 10% of total pigmeat exports.
Robert Lawson, joint managing director of East Anglian-based breeding company Rattlerow Farms, which produces about 10,000 animals a year, said it was excellent news. He hopes the first shipments will be leaving the UK by Christmas.
"A significant proportion of our selected gilts were going for export pre-F&M. By limiting supply it could also put additional pressure on the slaughter market and help to increase prices."
Brian Edwards, managing director of Driffield pig firm JSR Healthbred, is also hopeful. "We have forward orders amounting to many thousands of animals from Spain and Germany."
Like meat exports, trade from the lowest risk areas will resume first. Pigs must have been on the same unit for 30 days and no F&M-susceptible animals may have been introduced from outside during that period.
Meanwhile, DEFRA is planning to relax the ban on multiple pick-ups for the transport of animals to slaughter.
But regulations will not be lifted completely. Pick-ups will only be allowed in F&M-free counties from approved premises with perimeter loading pens or trailers. The move will apply initially only to beef and pigs.
A licensing system has yet to be put in place, but it is hoped that movements will be under way within the next few weeks.
Smaller farmers will gain most, says Peter Hambleton, managing director of farmer-owned livestock marketing co-op Quality Calves, which recently reopened its Chippenham site as a collection centre. "Not many producers can fill a whole lorry, so this will obviously reduce transport costs."
He says it will also give the firm more flexibility when marketing stock, by matching parcels to suitable homes.
Dairy farmers will also gain because it will now be much easier to dispose of barren cows intended for OTMS, he adds. "The measures do not answer all the problems, but they are a welcome first step."
But Kevin Pearce, head of livestock at the NFU, says extending the scheme to farm-to-farm movements is vital when the next round of relaxations is discussed. "It is critical that farmers are able to move small numbers of calves for finishing – at the moment the cost is prohibitive." *