IF PIGS COULD fly, they would probably have to grow extra ribs and extra bellies to help South Africa’s pork industry meet its local quota to cut out imports of more than 2 000 tons a month from Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.
The industry, which is trying to carve a niche in the market as it comes third after poultry and beef, currently has a per capita consumption of 15kg a person compared to 40kg for beef and 21kg for poultry.
Eskort CEO Arnold Prinsloo told Business Report imports were necessary, because so many cuts of ribs and bellies could be harvested from a single baconer, while cuts such as loins, trotters, liver and meaty bones were a hard sell to the local market.
The industry exports about 850 tons of pork produce a month to the Southern African Development Community region.
“The demand for ribs is enormous, but you can only get two rib racks from a single pig.
“Due to the poor local economy, the buying of meat has dropped,” Prinsloo said.
According to a Standard Bank livestock report, the average prices of porkers and baconers increased slightly by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent to R29.38/kg and R28.20/kg, respectively, while the average price of sausage pigs remained unchanged at R23.58/kg.
On average, pork prices were 7.8 percent lower year-on-year.
Furthermore, pork prices have fallen over the past 12 months, with a recent livestock report indicating that pork has shed some 7.8 percent year-on-year. In terms of sustainability, recent studies have shown that the environmental impact of producing pork is comparable with poultry and eggs. By contrast, beef is estimated to produce five times the heat-trapping gases per calorie such as methane and carbon dioxide, and requires as much as 11 times more water.
“This is particularly meaningful in a water-scarce country such as South Africa, placing less demand on vital natural resources. Additionally, as consumers place increasing emphasis on conscious purchases, pork represents an easy, sustainable substitution for reducing the environmental footprint of food production, with positive implications for the growth of the local industry. “Ultimately, we believe these factors will result in an uptake in demand during 2022, as consumers recognise the benefits of pork both for themselves and their families, as well as its advantages as a gift to the environment.
“While we have all suffered a difficult two years during the pandemic, I believe the future is bright, and that as an industry, as meat processors, we can look forward to a more positive year ahead,” Prinsloo said.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE