Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/709569
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 12 News Oliver Frendo, a veterinarian and general manager of the Pig Breeders Cooperative, insists that the difficulties facing the industry are rooted in growing competition from large farms in Spain and Germany. But is there a future for the ailing pig industry or should pig farmers take up hospitality or start rearing sheep as suggested recently by parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes? JAMES DEBONO asks PARLIAMENTARY secretary Roderick Galdes has recently blamed the lack of long-term plan- ning by the Pig Breeders Coopera- tive for the dire situation Maltese pig breeders find themselves in, claiming that the inflated number of pig farms in Malta was pushing the local price of pork up while prices within the EU have dropped, leaving Maltese farmers with no vi- able sales outlet. Oliver Frendo, a vet and general manager of the Pig Breeders Co- operative, describes this claim as a "ridiculous simplification" which ignores the fact that the same problems are being experienced by farms in 25 out of 28 EU member states. Moreover, he rebuts any sugges- tion that the Maltese consumer is paying more for pork than other European consumers, pointing out that in Malta pork costs between €5 and €7 per kilo, compared to €9 and €12 in Germany. The difference is that the price paid by middlemen, such as shop owners and meat pro- cessors to buy local pork from Mal- tese farmers, is higher than in other countries where production costs are lower. One of the factors pushing up costs higher for Maltese breeders is the high price of animal feed – "We have the most expensive grain terminal in Europe", according to Frendo. This is because the grain terminal was designed decades ago with a view of turning Malta into a hub for the transhipment of cereals. Un- fortunately this did not work out as planned and the grain terminal is highly under used. Therefore to avoid losses storage costs had to be raised, resulting in more expensive animal feed. "On average cereals are €90 per tonne more expensive than in mainland Europe. This translates into an extra 30 cents per kg in the production cost of pork". Another reason is that produc- tion costs are lower for factory farms with thousands of sows each in countries like Spain and Ger- many. "If I am producing a million pigs a year and I make an end profit of €1 euro from each pig I am a mil- lionaire but if I am producing 1,000 pigs and make a profit of €1 per pig I would barely make a living…" He claims that Maltese breeders are simply asking to keep €2 per kg. Other countries like Poland, char- acterised by small-scale operations, have also taken the brunt of com- petition. Put simply it is cheaper to produce pork if you operate farms with tens of thousands of sows reared by minimum wage employ- ees. Does this not simply go to show that the future of small-scale pig breeders is bleak and the future be- longs to large-scale operators? I ask. Frendo rebuts by arguing that consumers are not making any sav- ings, and the lower costs are simply reflected in higher profit margins of large corporations. In some cases consumers are paying even higher prices to buy already sliced and portion packed marinated pork, paying up to 10 to 12 Euros per kg. "Even discount stores like Lidl sell pork at a higher price than that found at local butchers selling local pork at €5 to €6." Frendo points out that farmers are only expecting a return of 30% on the selling price and it is this which is considered as being too high by other actors in the supply chain. "A farmer spends 10 months pro- ducing a kg of pork while the re- tailer sells it in three days." He expressed outrage at how on a European level distributors and wholesalers are imposing the price on producers, driving those who can't afford these prices out of busi- ness. He insists that the cooperative, which he claims includes all pig breeders except three, is only inter- ested in ensuring that its members get a fair price. "What the middlemen complain about is about the pig breeder de- manding a decent living. We can't deny our members a decent living simply because Spain overpro- duced and dumps some meat in our market…" Added to these woes, local pro- ducers even face illegal competitive practices. Despite the 'Majjal ta' Malta' awareness campaign, un- dermining local pig breeders is the sale of imported pork disguised as local pork. The major problem lies with the sale of loose fresh pork on the butcher's counter. "People who buy fresh pork as- Maltese pork: Justice Minister retains golden passport remit JUSTICE Minister Owen Bon- nici will retain the responsibil- ity for the Individual Investor Programme, informed sources have said. The sources denied reports in certain sections of the me- dia that Bonnici was losing the citizenship scheme to Economy Minister Chris Cardona. A re- port by the Malta Independent appears to have confused the residency and visa programme with citizenship-by-investment scheme, prompting allegations that the IIP had been added to Cardona's portfolio. "Bonnici is responsible for Identity Malta, including the major programmes such as the IIP. There has been no shifting or reshuffling of duties or com- petences," sources told Malta- Today. The Malta Independent re- ported yesterday that "the prime minister has decided to shift the citizenship initia- tive under the Minister for the Economy Chris Cardona". The sources explained that a new addition to Cardona's economy portfolio was the Malta Residency & Visa Pro- gramme (MRVP), a programme previously held by then junior minister José Herrera. When the Prime Minister car- ried out a reshuffle in April in response to Panamagate, Her- rera was promoted to Minis- ter for the Environment while former home affairs minister Manuel Mallia was reinstated as minister for competitiveness and digital maritime and ser- vices economy. A number of responsibilities previously held by Herrera were thus redistributed, and Cardo- na was given the MRVP.