Will improving pork quality heal the industry?

The starting point for the discussion was a short lecture given by prof. Tomasz Schwarz from the University of Agriculture in Krakow. As the expert said, for years, when talking about quality, we mainly meant the quality of the carcass, related to meatiness or bumpiness. However, the quality of meat as the raw material for processing is different.

– Consumers are not interested in things like meatiness and bumpiness. The consumer is interested in whether he or she likes the meat. Therefore, our efforts to improve meat quality should be an important element in the fight for the perception of the entire industry – explained Prof. Schwarz.

The discussion was attended by pig breeders: Roman Kieca, who breeds Puławy pigs, Bogusław Lupa, who breeds Danish genetics in an open cycle, and Piotr Ziółkowski, a breeder who breeds pigs in a closed cycle, also based on the “Duńczyk”.

Can the quality of pork be improved?

The focus of the discussion was naturally on improving the quality of meat. However, according to the discussants, this improvement is not easy at all and no one knows exactly how to achieve it.

– We will not improve this by changing breeding conditions – yes, higher welfare means better quality of life for pigs, but there are no studies indicating that increased welfare standards are associated with better meat quality – said Prof. Schwarz.

Another idea discussed was slowing down the growth rate of animals. However, the key question is how we can do this when modern genetics are aimed at the fastest possible growth rate and maximum feed efficiency. There are also no studies showing that limiting the growth rate of pigs will result in improved meat quality.

Will the consumer pay for higher quality meat?

Moderating the discussion: prof. Tomasz Schwarz also drew attention to the chain of connections between the livestock producer, processor and consumer. In theory, the consumer should be willing to pay more for higher quality meat, which would also have an impact on the pig producer’s wallet. However, this issue is not as obvious as it seems:

– Polish consumers still look mainly at the price of the product. Consumer awareness is certainly increasing, but relatively few consumers still assume that it is better to buy less of a high-quality product. The consumer prefers to purchase a budget product with questionable composition. There is a task for the entire industry to educate the consumer – said Bogusław Lipa in the debate.

In turn, according to Piotr Ziółkowski, looking at the quality of pork is difficult in a situation when 1/5 of sows in Poland belong to companies engaged in fattening, and the import of weaners from Denmark constitutes a large share of domestic pig production:

– In this situation, there is no room for dialogue between the breeder and the plant. In my opinion, striving for quality is the way for smaller farms producing for the local market, concluded the farmer.

Rebuilding piglet production

Further in the discussion, the issue of the dependence of the domestic sector on the import of weaners and the threats resulting from this fact were discussed. As pointed out by prof. Schwarz, Danish producers are now putting more and more emphasis on closing the production cycle, which may ultimately lead to an insufficient supply of weaners on the market.

– If the import of weaners decreased by even one million a year, it would give us PLN 300,000. unfilled fattening positions in Poland – said the specialist.

As the discussants explained, the problem of limiting the supply of weaners from Denmark is complex. On the one hand, it results from an aging society and the lack of successors, but on the other hand, it results from market fluctuations. One thing is certain – in the current circumstances, there is no chance to compensate for the potential loss of 6 million imported weaners overnight.

There is still no strategy for the industry

In the next part of the debate, the need to develop a strategy for pig production in Poland was also discussed. According to the participants, it must contain several elements, the most important of which is the reconstruction of the sow population. However, for it to be viable, it is necessary to stabilize the income earned by producers. According to the discussants, the opportunity for this is primarily integration between pig producers themselves:

– One breeder alone cannot conquer the world. It is necessary to join forces, which will allow us to negotiate a higher rate for livestock or lower prices of production means, said one of the farmers.

However, in his opinion, the issue of market integration is not simple – especially the older generation expresses great reluctance to associate in larger groups or cooperatives.

– .