UFU hopeful of Cranswick resolution

This followed confirmation of a cluster of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the local community affecting staff at the factory.

UFU president Victor Chestnutt said: “The past ten days have brought uncertainty for pig producers. The Cranswick factory is a key part of the pig trade, processing thousands of pigs every week.

“Closure was a major concern for our members.”

The UFU have facilitated multiple meetings with industry stakeholders to discuss and explore all options to avoid a major crisis.

“Following those discussions, we are hopeful 
of an early resolution to 
get processing back to 
full capacity,” said Mr Chestnutt.

The UFU has welcomed the cooperation that came from across industry and government to tackle this problem.

“The focus now is on getting things back to normal as quickly as possible, including tackling the backlog of stock on farms and the pressure this is causing,” said the UFU president.

Meanwhile MLA William Irwin has spoken of his concerns at the shutdown of the Cranswick plant.

Mr Irwin said the knock-on effects of the closure for pig farmers was increasingly worrying.

Mr Irwin said: “Obviously the reasons for the closure are clear and it is right and proper given the importance of public health to assess this development and take the necessary steps to protect staff.”

He added: “There is however another concerning element to this closure and that is the breakdown in the supply chain and that fact that farmers have pigs in a supply chain, which when interrupted, causes significant issues on farms in terms of capacity.”

He said: “A farmer I have spoken to supplies 150 pigs a week to the factory and as this is halted, there is an inevitable build up on the farm which is causing concerns. As Cranswick I understand processes in the region of 12000 pigs per week, you can easily see how this issue becomes a much bigger problem across the province.”

He concluded: “It is obviously vital that public health is protected however it is also vital that the food supply chain in this instance is not too severely impacted that it causes widespread disruption.

“I wish the team at Cranswick well as they work through this crisis and hopefully service can be resumed at the site as soon as possible.”