Low value pork cuts need a lift
Low value pork cuts need a lift
CASH is urgently needed to promote consumption of unpopular pork cuts to tackle imports and to boost farm gate prices.
Shoulders represent 30% of a pigs weight, but just 20% of carcass value, says Peter Thompson, commercial director of Fishers Feeds, based in East Yorks. "Most are exported to the Continent."
More of the £12-15m raised via Meat and Livestock Commission levies each year should be used to educate consumers, he maintains. "We have to be more innovative and use lower value cuts in new, exciting, value-added products."
Caterers and the fast-growing convenience food sector should also be targeted, he adds. "The biggest fear is losing these markets to imported meat," adds Mr Thompson.
Mick Sloyan of the MLC agrees there is potential in the food service sector. "But people are finding all sorts of ways to spend money, whether it is promoting shoulders, buying British or funding research to cut costs. It is a question of prioritising it." *