Sow Stalls Ban Just 13 Months Away: How Ready are EU Producers?

The latest BPEX Imports Report aims to provide an analysis of UK pork and pork products import trade and the possible implications of the partial ban on sow stall ban in the EU from January 2013. Sow stalls for use in pig production were banned completely in the UK in 1999, when the industry adopted loose housing production systems to raise animal welfare standards.

As well as exploring the possible impacts of the pig meat trade for the UK, the report offers the latest update on the level of preparedness for the forthcoming ban by pig producers in other EU states, for which there are no official data.

Until recently, it was widely assumed that Denmark would be fully compliant with the Directive, 2001/88/EC, by January 2013 but the producers' association has reported lately that nearly one-third of producers will be unable to comply with the new welfare requirements, a situation attributed to difficulties in applying for loans to finance the required investment.

Lack of profitability in the Dutch industry has been given as the main reason why the remaining two-thirds of producers have not yet updated their sow housing, while the additional burden of environmental regulations is adding to the difficulties of Dutch producers.

Germany is by far the largest pig meat producer in the EU, yet a Rabobank report indicates that only 20 per cent of the national sow herd is produced to the higher welfare standards demanded by the directive. Reductions in the numbers of in-pig gilts and maiden gilts in the last census suggests that some farmers are ceasing production rather than investing in new housing.

In Belgium, Rabobank estimates that only 20 per cent of the sow herd is 2001/88/EC-compliant already. The pig producers' organisation in Flanders has presented a plan to Government to reduce the national herd by 100,000 sows or 20 per cent to enable remaining farmers to improve their returns so they can invest in new housing.

In the Irish Republic, reports indicate compliance ranging from 20 per cent to 70 per cent of the pig herd, while only 30 to 40 per cent of France's pig sector was reported to be compliant as the result of financing problems.

Spain has the largest sow herd in the EU with 2.4 million head; the Rabobank report considered the industry to be only 30 per cent compliant in early 2011, while the same proportion of the Italian industry has already converted its sow stalls.

In Poland, the breeding herd has declined sharply and further falls are expected as loss-making producers decide to quit the industry. Similar patterns in sow numbers are reported in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania.

The latest figures from the US show commercial red meat production slightly higher in October than in the same month a year ago. Pork production for the month was up two per cent from the previous year.

Following the recent announcement that the European Commission is moving to cut the use of antibiotics in agriculture, the German Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection has announced a package of measures to gain better control of the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry. In the UK, antibiotic use is reported to be on the rise again after a prolonged period of decline although the report stresses that the use of antimicrobials per tonne of feed has risen only slightly.

And finally, research conducted at Canada's Prairie Swine Centre suggests the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the diet of the sow is of greater significance in influencing her reproductive performance than the actual amounts of the compounds.