PROGRAMME - British Society of Animal Science

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The British Pig Industry and the impact of consumer opinions
P. Toplis
Technical Director, Primary Diets, Melmerby Industrial Estate, Melmerby, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 5HP England.
Email: paul.toplis@primarydiets.com
Neither the consumer nor the Pig Industry is defined within an exact science. Consumers and their opinions are described in an
enormous variety of ways including High Rise Hardship through Educated Urbanites to Prudent Pensioners, Settled Suburbia,
and Affluent Greys and so on. The list seems endless! The Agricultural Census wins few prizes for accuracy but according to
the latest census there are around 4.5 million pigs in the UK with over 425 thousand breeding females. Surprisingly both
breeding and fattening herd sizes continue to fall (down to 148 and 783 respectively). The greatest density of pigs is in Suffolk
but the greatest number is in East Yorkshire. In England around 40 percent of commercial breeding pigs are outdoors utilising
around 9000 hectares. Most indoor breeding pigs are kept on totally or partially slatted floors in farrowing accommodation
whilst the remainder of the breeding cycle is straw based. Only one fifth of outdoor bred piglets remain outdoors (7-30kg) with
indoor reared piglets split evenly between straw and fully slatted accommodation. Beyond 30kg only three percent of pigs
remain outdoors. The majority of indoor reared pigs beyond 30kg are on straw but relatively more finishers (above 65kg) are
on slatted flooring. Across breeding units 118,000 females have Freedom Food certification with an estimated 2.7 million
finished pigs covered by the scheme. Around 50,000 pigs are covered by organic certification at any one time.
Abattoirs killing pigs have declined considerably with only 124 remaining in England. Four large companies with eight sites
now kill three quarters of English pigs. The average number of workers per holding with pigs is 3.3 with over half of these
farmers, partners, directors and spouses. Self sufficiency in pork production has fallen from 80% in 2000 to around 50% today,
a fall some commentators blame on the increased costs associated with meeting consumer opinions (demands) not being
recompensed by their actual buying habits.
The British Pig Industry has learned to its cost that many consumers have aspirations and interests which outstrip their
shopping behaviour. The British consumer has long had an interest in ethical (welfare) and environmental issues and these
continue to grow (up from 81% to 86% in the last 4 years). Despite a growing awareness and interest in these issues the
economic climate has a ‘gearing’ effect on how much consumers engage them during shopping. A recent survey by IGD
segmented shoppers into five segments and compared their shopping behaviour to that found in a previous survey. The Ethical
Evangelists, the most ethically engaged, have decreased their application to shopping choices (down from 15% to 8%), whilst
the Focussed Followers (focused on several issues only) are similarly less engaged (26% down to 21%). The Aspiring
Activists & Blinkered Believers, who now account for 54% of shoppers, actively support a number of ethical issues but are
selective about which one(s) they apply to shopping choices. Rather than dropping their ethical standards they tend to focus on
the one which concerns them most when shopping. It is this shift out of broad engagement into narrow focus at the moment of
purchase which has confounded pig producers until recently. Interestingly the Conscience Casuals, who are not ethically
engaged, have declined (from 21% to 16%). What is clear is that ‘value’ continues to drive consumer choices at purchase but
that there is increasingly a mental referencing to their ‘values’ as they seek to satisfy as many ethical and environmental
concerns as possible within their financial constraints. Value and Values compete at the point of purchase and the weighting
given to Values is influenced by the disposable income of the purchaser. Consumers believe they should be rewarded for
embracing Values through incentives on the more ethical products.
An increasing feature of the British Pig Industry is the integrated Values chain where of a specific group of farms act as a
dedicated supplier for a specific retailer or brand for that retailer. While the British Pig Industry may be dominated by talk and
demand for Values, many consumers still feel unable to put their aspirations into practice and purchase instead what they
perceive to be best value for money. These mixed messages from consumers will continue to undermine producer confidence
and continue to reinforce a commonly held producer view that their only option is to work as a fiercely independent business
seeing their neighbour as a competitor.
The British Pig Industry has been seriously weakened by consumer opinion influencing politicians, who naively allowed what
Aspiring Activists & Blinkered Believers say rather than do to dictate our laws and government policy. Where pig producers,
processors and retailers work together to satisfy the consumer demand for value and values stronger and more profitable
supply chains are emerging. Dealing with current welfare issues raised by consumers such as tail docking, teeth
clipping/grinding and nose ringing matters profoundly in some supply chains but not at all in others.
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