Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir has committed to address challenges in the Northern Ireland pig industry.
The minister made the comments as he visited the Cranswick Country Foods site in Ballymena, Co. Antrim.
During his visit, Muir said that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) would continue to support the Northern Ireland pig sector “as it continues to flourish on the domestic and international pork product market”.
Pig industry
Cranswick Country Foods currently process 13,000 pigs per week, with 85% sourced within Northern Ireland and the remainder from Republic of Ireland.
In addition to supplying the domestic market, the company has a significant export trade to destinations including China, Canada, Philippines, South Korea, South Africa and Europe.
Cranswick Country Foods has been involved in recent inward trade missions from Mexico and Canada, receiving positive reports.
“I remain aware of the challenges that pig producers face, including development of their enterprises whilst managing the environmental threat including ammonia production, and will continue to work with industry to address these,” Minister Muir said.
The minister said that he is hoping to follow up his visit to the processing plant with a visit to a pig farm.
During his time in Ballymena, Minister Muir also visited Moore Concrete Products.
The team has worked on the development of products such as their SurefootTM slip resistant cattle slats which aims to help the agriculture sector to lower its carbon footprint while improving on its overall levels of sustainability.
Moore Concrete is one of only three UK-based precast concrete manufacturers who have set a Science Based Emission Reduction Target for their business.
Science-Based Targets (SBT) provide companies with a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
Minister Muir said he was interested to see at first hand the work of Moore Concrete in green manufacturing.
“It is vitally important that all industry stakeholders – including farmers, processors, NGOs and DAERA – work collaboratively to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry from an environmental and financial perspective,” he said.
